


What I want, what you need

by ChildOfTheMoon86



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Fantasy AU, Human AU, Knight America, Magic, Multi, Not Beta Read, Slow Burn, wolf england
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-07-25 08:55:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 42,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16194242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChildOfTheMoon86/pseuds/ChildOfTheMoon86
Summary: One mistake can ruin your entire world. But another could change it for the better, in ways you couldn't possibly imagine. Alfred's learning this the hard way. Fantasy au. Featuring Knight!America and Wolf!England





	1. Fate found in snow

This is bad...

Is probably the understatement of Alfred's life, or what's going to be left of it.

He tries once more in a vain attempt to move, even just an inch but it's no use. He sighs, dropping his head back down into the snow. The bolder on top of him is the size of a small house and weighs _way_ too much to move. It's only thanks to his armor that he's not a squished pancake right now, though, he doesn't know how much longer that'll last. The armour's old, the runes binding the reinforcement spell into it are rusty and faded in places. Honestly, he's surprised that they still work, let alone are saving him from death by bolder. Not that he won't die here, but it's nice to know it won't be because of his gear, just his stupidity it would seem.

He looks about, or as best he can, pinned as he is, only his head and neck poking out from his stone prison. The howling wind of this Gods damned blizzard whips across his face, causing it to sting as he slowly freezes. The snow creating a white out, he can barely see two feet in front of him. But... death by hypothermia or starvation won't be his end... no, his end will be the one who trapped him here in the first place, his own fault really, he wasn't paying attention. Silly really, since he was running for his life, you'd think he'd look where he was going but, no, so now here he is.

He turns his head to the left, cheek pressed into the snow. Out there, over the wind, he can here it. The sound of a low growl, raw, animalistic. Four large paws near silently crunching snow as it stalks forward. Part of Alfred want's to shout at it for taking so long and to just hurry up already. He's cold, tired and just want's this to be over already. But that's only a small part. The bigger, and much more reasonable part, want's to tell the beast to fuck off while he works on a way, however hopelessly, to try to free himself. Not that the beasts of the world have ever been known to listen to anyone, at least, not that he knows of. But then again, his education in the realm of beast is more of the business end of a sword, so who knows? He doesn't, and he doubts it'll matter much now anyway.

Ah, he can see the thing now. Fur as white as the freshly fallen snow itself. Teeth bared, it snarls as it stalks closer, emerging through the blizzard, which it had created, he can see the puffs of air as it breathes. Green eyes trained on him, he's going to be it's next meal, they both know this. Definitely, he glares at the wolf, wishing so hard right now that looks could kill.

It circles him, sniffing the air, growling, snarling. So this is how he's going to meet his end? In a blizzard, trapped under a bolder and eaten by a Giant Snow Wolf. Not how he had planned to go out... Where's the heroic deed? The grateful villagers or indebted King? How's he supposed to leave behind and awesome legend like this? Alfred the Great! Alfred the Magnificent! More like Alfred, how not to be a Knight.

He watches the wolf as it stops circling, ceasing it's annoying noises. Oh, good, it must finally have figured out that he is truly stuck and can't cause it any harm, great...

It tilts it's large head, mouth easily big enough to rip his face off, and experimentally paws at his head. He jerks away from the touch, but is helpless to do much more. Annoyingly, the wolf somehow seems to smiles at this, as it sits and paws at him again. He pulls away again, but the wolf is insistent, and soon he finds he can't move away from it's touch. It sits behind his head, looking down at him, and Alfred swears the damned thing looks _smug_.

Cold, tired, and all too fed up with his hopeless predicament he angrily snaps at the beast.

"What?! Do you think this is funny?"

' _Why, yes. I do._ '

A voice floats through his mind, but it is not his own.

He stares.

"Wait, What?!"


	2. The mistakes I’ve made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning: blood, violence

Okay, let's go back.

"It's a boy!"

Wait, no, not that far back.

"Front foot forward Jones!"

Okay, here.

Alfred swings his sword at the training dummy, right foot forward, blade slashing through the air.

Strike... Strike... Strike...

Metal clangs with each hit.

"Watch your foot work! Twist your arm, not the sword!" His instructor shouts directions at him. Always something to improve, Commander Gilbert Beilschmidt is as tough as they get.

"Alright, five minute break, then it's on to maces!"

He sighs as he stumbles back to the benches, pulling his helmet off, he grabs for the water barrel, dunking and draining his cup in one swift movement.

"Jones! Good work out there, your beginning to not suck!" Beilschmidt bellows as he passes. Al's pretty sure the man isn't capable of communicating in anything less than ear splitting. But the praise is rare, so he'll take what he can get.

Fourteen and a solider in the kings guard, just like his father and his father before him. He's of high born blood, and his family's sworn loyalty to the throne is absolute. First borns will serve, no exceptions. As the eldest twin, that means him. But he can't even imagine his brother serving, he's to smart to waste on the battle field, or so the joke goes. His brother's smart, a true born tactician, but him? He's a fighter, through and through.

"Alright, you lazy lugs, back to work!" Beilschmidt shouts at them from across the barracks, their all quick to do as he says. No one want's to run his punishment course for disobedience.

* * *

"Alfred Feral Jones the third, kneel."

Clad in his family's ceremonial armour, he kneels before the King. Left knee to the ground, right one bent, foot flat. Right arm straight across his leg, left held to his side, head bowed, just like he's practiced. His armour clanks and the sound resonates throughout the hall as he moves, his cloak, baring his family's crest, flows out behind him.

This is it, the high point of his seventeen years of life.

"By the powers of the old and the new, I, King Momarîs Oudin the sixth, do knight you."

The old King carefully brings his ceremonial sword down on each of his shoulders, knighting him.

On the outside, Al remains perfectly still, but inside, he's squealing like a girl and jumping around the room. Finally, after seven years of constant training, he's now a knight, at true member of the King's Guard. This is the highest honour that can be bestowed upon any single living soul.

He can hear the smile in the old King's voice as he says, "Arise, _Sir_ Alfred, Knight of Talmeré!"

He raises his head and smiles up at the King, then stands. The cheers and applause of court fill the hall, his fellow knights nod to him as he turns to the gathering, beaming. A worn hand falls on his shoulder, he looks over to see his King.

"Your father would have been proud."

Al's smile turns bittersweet as he nods.

"Yeah, he would."

* * *

The loud clanging of metal pulls Alfred from his peaceful slumber.

"Urgh..."

Sitting up he looks about, head pounding as he tries to remember where he is.

"Oh."

Now he remembers. The barracks. After the ceremony, the Knights took him out drinking to celebrate. Though, how he ended up face down under one of the benches out in the training field is a mystery to him.

"Jones!"

Ah, his head pounds painfully at the booming voice, Gil never changes.

"Eh, that's _Sir_ Jones to you now." He says playfully.

"Well, will the _Sir_ be joining the patrol, or does he need a little nap to get over his drinking from last night?" Beilschmidt laughs at Al's pained expression from the volume of his voice. Clearly enjoying his suffering, as always.

"Patrol?"

"Yeah, sleeping beauty! While you've been having your little _nap_ , orders come down from above. Patrol the Western front, kill anything that moves, unless they're a civilian of course." He adds the last bit seemingly as an after thought.

"Hell, I'm down for that!"

A chance to finally show what he's made of, there's no way he'd pass that up! After all these years of training, he's finally being allowed out into the Western front. That's where hero's are made!

"Great, be ready and join us by the Western gate in ten or we leave you behind!" Gilbert calls as he head off.

The Western gate... It's the largest of most strongly fortified of the city's four gates. He's only been out it once before with is father, now, it's his time to defend their home.

Armour clad, sword sheathed on his back, he's ready, and just in time too.

As he arrives, the gate is already being opened. Gilbert, for all his threats of leaving him behind, does have a horse ready and waiting for him. He mounts up and quickly follows the group of five others, and Gilbert.

Patrol, he learns, is actually _really_ boring. So far the most exciting thing they've come across was a river mole. Harmless, though they do make for a tasty meal.

"Geez, I thought there'd be more action than this..." He quietly complains, he knows how much Beilschmidt hates whiners.

"Hahaha, hate to break it to you kid, but this is what most patrols are like." Aldus, one off the older knights laughs.

"Yeah but there's gotta be at least something interesting out there."

"Don't know why your complaining, a quiet patrol is a good patrol. Means we're doing our job right and protecting the city and it's people." Galiene, reasons from his side. Al nod's in agreement with her.

"I know what your problem is." Emeny joins in, smirking at him, "Your a hero worshiper." She says knowingly.

"I, uh, I mean... um..." He stutters out while the group smile knowingly at him.

"Haha, boy, a knight hero worshiper! Oooh, that's rich, hahaha!" Randull laughs.

"Well, I mean, come on... You mean you guy's aren't?" He looks between each of them but they all just shake their heads and laugh.

"Al, that would be the same as us worshiping ourselves, of course we're not." Odger explains.

"Oh... yeah guess that makes sense." Honestly he had hoped to keep his hero worshiping a secret, but it seems nothing gets past these guys.

"Hold up." Gilbert raises his hand for them to halt, voice the quietest Al's even heard him.

"What is it?"

Alfred watches fascinated as Gilbert's red eyes glow, scanning the horizon. He's never seen him use his magic before, but now he can't look away.

"Pack of Uphairx, big ones. About twenty of them." His eyes stop glowing as he turns to the group, "Dismount and assume defensive positions." He orders as he jumps down from his horse.

Alfred quickly follows, leading his horse to one of the few trees and tying her there before moving back to join the others.

"Jones, don't just stand there! Get on rear defence with Randull!" Beilschmidt hisses at him.

"Oh, right."

He stands to the young mans side, sword drawn, ready to fight. They all now stand in a circle, facing outward, ready to do battle.

Every thing seems quite and calm, but just as Al is beginning to doubt Gilbert's warning, he can hear the low growls of the beasts as they approach. Uphairx, or the Stone Dog Bird as they are more commonly called. They move in large packs, never alone. For all they have wings, they can't fly well, their bodies are simply too heavy for long periods of flight. But they are deadly, with a taste for human blood and are notoriously hard to kill. Cut off the head and a Fire Blade to the heart is the only way. He looks to his own sword, a Sky Blade, he may not be able to kill them, but he can still do some serious damage. He can at least cut off the heads and allow one of the others to deliver the final blow. Except...

"Kesesese!" Behind him he can hear Gil's laugh and the sounds of metal on stone as the others fight. The thing is the Uphairx are only coming from one way... so, stuck in his rear defence position, he's missing all the action!

"Aldus, look out!" He hears Galiene call.

Enough is enough! Al turns from his position and joins the fray. Sword slicing through the air, he easily cuts off the head of one of the beasts. However, he's just made the biggest mistake of his life...

"Aaaaaa!"

" _Randull!_ "

He turns and sees one of the beasts has the man in it's jaws, stone teeth sinking into his shoulders.

"Hold on!" He cries as he runs back over, but the damage is done. As he runs another beast joins it and bites down on the mans leg, the pair pull from opposite sides and Al stares in horror as both arm and leg are ripped apart from his body.

"Arrrghhh!" Al screams as he cuts them down.

"Randull!" Galiene runs past him, gathering the unconscious man in her arms, she cries over him, angrily staring up at Alfred.

"This is your fault! Why did you leave your position!"

Emeny quickly runs past him, laying her hands on Randull and casting her healing magic. He can only stare, unable to say anything. Dully, he notices Gilbert stock past him, heartlessly stabbing the beasts through the heart with his Fire Blade, not looking at him. The death cries of the creatures do nothing to sooth them..

* * *

He paces in the waiting chamber as his fate is decided. Randull, thankfully, survived the attack. But he'll never be the same again... He can no longer be a knight, not with his injuries.

He continues pacing... The King and high court have been deliberating on his fate for some time now. Gilbert's in there too, as key witness.

He walks the length of the chamber again and again...

They're going to kill him, he's sure... Disobedience is bad enough, but he almost got Randull killed! That's a death sentence for sure. So the only question now is... How are they going to do it?

He could run... But he's not a coward, and he's willing to pay the price for what he's done...

Besides, where would he go? He'd be a criminal, a wanted man. The southern kingdoms would eat him alive for that, be it for a bounty or simply hatred. West is basically suicide and he doesn't think he could handle the months at sea to reach the eastern continent. And north is... well the less said about there the better. Not to mention his only remaining family is here. So no, no running...

More pacing... then...

"Jones." An attendant says as they swing open the doors.

Silently, he follows them up to the throne room, where his fate is waiting.

Glares and looks of disappointment follow him as he makes his way across the room to stand before his King.

"Alfred..." The old man says tiredly, voice not hiding his disappointment in him.

"My lord." Still, he bows his head and kneels. Even if he's going to die, he still has his senses about him. The King sighs heavily.

"What you have done, it can never be undone. But, perhaps it _can_ be forgiven." He snaps his head up at that.

"Sir Randull has given his view on the matter and, with Gilbert's account of the event, we have come to a decision."

This is it...

"For your crimes of disobedience, and endangering a fellow Knight, you shall be stripped of your knighthood. But, for your actions of protecting your fellow man, and by the good graces of your bloodline, you shall _not_ be executed on this day."

He gets to live...

"However, a punishment must be given, and so, it has been decided. You, Alfred Feral Jones the third, will henceforth, be tasked with the sole duty of guarding the Solace Fort, in the Ivory Expanse. And you will remain there, until your days end, or until you discover your true calling."

"Uh..." He's not sure how to respond to this. He gets to live but... He's basically been exiled...

"You have until sundown tomorrow to prepare, then, you will ride out to the fort. From there, you'll be in the hands of fate." With that, he's dismissed and his world crumbles around him...

* * *

Two years he's been guarding this damned fort, and he hates it. There's nothing but ice and snow in this crappy perpetual winter. Not to mention that when he first got here, the place was falling apart. So he's been stuck doing a one man repair job while he sits here in the cold, draughty ruin that is his new home for the rest of his life. He's definitely going to die young out here. At least he's managed to repair most of the outside, so less of the cold gets in now. The first few months were a living hell, but now it's at least bearable. To think, he finally managed to become a knight —something he'd been working towards his whole life— one of the Kings guard! And he lost it all in a single day.

Now instead of being in a bustling city, he's all alone. The nearest form of civilisation is a village three days ride from here, and the nearest town of any use is five days. Here, he has to hunt for his food or travel to town to barter if he needs something in particular.

Standing out on the battlements, he looks across the endless expanse of white. Trees dot the horizon, the edge of the Frost Forest and beyond them, the Quivering Mountains. He sighs as he leans upon the cold stone. He misses home, his brother... The days when he was sure he'd become a hero, a _true_ hero of the people... Even the armour he once had has been bartered away, now, he wears a much older suit, worn and rusty in places when he first got it. Though, he was quite surprised to find it holds a reinforcement spell bound into the metal itself. The blue strips of cloth at his sides, tied to his belt, are now the only think he has left from his home. Though they do not bear the crest, they are at least the colour of his family's sigil.

Well, enough moping, it's time for him to go check his traps, see if he's caught anything, maybe if he's lucky he'll find a good meal.

* * *

And that's how he ended up here. Mindlessly wandering through the forest checking his traps, the smell of his recent success, an Emerald Antelope, must have drawn the wolf's attention. What ever the reason, the result is still the same. The beast made to attack him, caught off guard, he had desperately swung his sword back, striking the wolf in the side. But that was were his luck ended. The beast crying out in pain and pulled back. Angered by the injury, it planted it's feet and raised its head up, letting out an ethereal howl. He realises now it's a snow wolf, and not just anyone, but the giant, magic wielding kind. Alfred stupidly stared rather than running as wind wiped up around the wolf, spiralling outwards, in an instant, Alfred found himself caught in a blizzard, a total white out.

So, survival instincts finally kicking in, he ran. And ran and ran and ran. Until, he ran right off a drop, falling several feet into the snow bank below. Groaning he rolled over, only for a massive bolder to drop down on top of him, pushed over the edge by the wolf and pinning him.

And so here he is, about to die at the hands of a very smug wolf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Backstory time! So basically Al you fucked up... big time...
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	3. A deal

"What?! Do you think this is funny?"

' _Why, yes. I do._ '

A voice floats through his mind, but it is not his own.

He stares.

"Wait, What?!"

No... no... not a voice, that can't have been. It must have been the wind... right?

"Did... did you just talk?"

The wolf only tilts its head, sizing him up no doubt.

"Haha, just my imagination." He sighs, dropping his head back into the snow and closing his eyes.

' _Are you really so prepared to die human? And here I thought you might have been a bit more fun. Though I must admit, I didn't know of any human that can speak wolf._ '

The voice returns, sounding just as smug as before. He snaps his eyes open and stares up at the wolf.

"Wait, can... can you understand me?"

The wolf frowns down at him.

' _Your speaking wolf. Of course I can understand you._ ' It —he?— grumpily replies.

"But... I'm not..."

' _You are. Human are you such a fool as to not know the tongue in which you speak? Though it matters not. I'll be having you as my next meal now, so do shut up while I kill you._ '

"No wait!" He cries as the wolf makes to go for his throat, and, oddly, it obeys. As if compelled by his voice, the wolf sits back down and waits.

' _What? How..._ ' It questions, looking a strange mix of annoyed and confused.

Not one to question his luck, Alfred quickly tries to think of a way out of his predicament. Though, when he comes up short he decides to just let his mouth run and hope he says something of use.

"You can't kill me!"

' _And why not? You pose no danger to me now._ '

"Because!... Because I'm stuck under this rock see? You can't get me under here, you'll only get like, my head. And is that really worth the effort?"

The wolf gives him an odd look, as if asking if he really is this dumb.

' _I trapped you under there, I can easily get you out. So yes, I'd say it_ is _worth the effort._ '

"Is it really though? I mean, I'm in all this armour. It'll be really hard to eat me with all this on."

The wolf huffs, the strong stench of dog breath invading his senses as a result.

' _I could easily rip that from you._ ' As if to prove it's point, the wolf lays one of it's large paws on the small piece of his chest plate still visible from under the rock. Digging it's claws in, it rips of the piece protecting the front of his neck. The sound of claws on metal fill his ears as he watches the piece be flung away by the wolf. It huff smugly over him.

' _See?_ ' It's voice drawls in his mind.

"Okay, yeah, your right, yeah." He's rambling, he need's to find a way out of this _now._

The wolf sniffs him at his now more exposed neck, snout crinkling at his unwashed smell. But can you blame him? Living on his own with no one around, yeah, he may go a _little_ while between baths, cause you know. Have you tried boiling your own bath water every day? It's exhausting, even more so when you first have to go out and collect buckets for freshly fallen snow to melt. But in this instance, his lack of personal hygiene might just be his saving grace.

' _Urgh!_ ' The voice makes a distinct gagging sound as the wolf backs off.

' _Human you are_ disgusting _! God, the_ smell _of you!_ '

Alfred latches onto his chance like a drowning man to a piece of drift wood in the open sea.

"Well you really don't want to eat me then. Just imagine how bad I taste if this is what I smell like."

The wolf gives him another look. Not sizing him up, so much as, if asking itself if the smell and taste are worth it. Apparently they are.

' _Rancid smell or not, your still the first,_ fresh, _sizeable prey I've caught in_ months. _And I'll be damned if I just let you go. This may have escaped your notice human, but I'm_ ** **starving****.'

The wolf's mouth opens, drool dripping down on his cheek as it lowers its head over him.

A single, saving thought enters his head at this.

"I can get you more food!"

The wolf pauses, so close to his neck he can feel it's fur and hot breath. Taking this as a good sign he continues.

"I can! I have a fort! All to myself too! The larder is full! All kinds of meat, enough to get through the winter!"

He pants, desperately hoping the wolf will believe him. Miraculously, it works. The beast backs off, enough to look him in the eye.

' _...the_ whole _winter?_ ' It asks, eye's lighting up and Al franticly nods.

It looks longingly at his neck before making it's decision.

' _Very well, human. I shall spare you. And in return_ you _will provide me with food until winters end._ '

"Yeah, of course!"

Satisfied, the wolf moves to his side. Standing before the boulder, it rears up, firmly placing it's front paws on the large rock and pushes, rolling it off of Alfred. Now free, he quickly scrambles to his feet, searching for his sword.

' _Looking for this?_ ' He looks over to see the wolf standing on his sword, ' _I am no fool._ ' It snarls angrily, pressing down on the blade, it snaps it in half.

Now weaponless, Alfred swallows nervously.

' _You_ will _feed me human. Or_ I _will feed on_ you.'

Alfred nods numbly, looking back up at the drop. There's no way he can climb straight back up. And in this blizzard, he can't tell where he is.

"Okay. But,Um... I can't exactly see where we are right now. I won't be able to take you back to my fort in this blizzard."

The wolf tilts it's head and, like before, plants it's feet and howls, only this time ending the blizzard. It looks back at him and seems to smile.

' _There, no more blizzard. Now, feed me._ ' It growls in warning.

And so, that was how Alfred found himself wandering through the woods, with a broken sword, damaged armour, and followed by a wolf back to his home.

Just what has he gotten himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news Alfred, your not dead! Yet... But now you do have a very hungry wolf to feed.
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	4. Destinies entwined

This... is incredibly awkward...

Alfred looks over to the wolf tailing him only two steps behind. The wolf glares back at him and he looks away again. But...

He stops, turning to the wolf and reaching into one of the pouches on his belt.

"Wait, before we go any further. Your hurt..." He says, eyeing the bleeding wound. He pulls the only bandages he has out and steps forward, but the wolf growls, making him stop.

' _And_ _who's fault is_ that?'

He raises his hands, hoping to calm the beast, "Yeah, I know. But you can't keep walking around like that. Here, let me help." He tries approaching again, but the creature only becomes more defensive, it's growls increasing.

' _Like_ _I need help from_ you! _A_ human.' Even if it says this, Al can see it wincing in pain as it moves.

"But you'll bleed out like that! And what am I going to do? You broke my sword, I'm basically defenceless."

The wolf huffs, wincing again.

' _Fine_ _..._ '

Smiling, Al quickly moves over. He looks the wound over first, it's deep, but he never hit anything vital it seems. He's not sure if he should be happy or sad about that. So instead, he picks up some of the fresh snow and rubs it in the wound to clean it. The beast flinches and growls at the touch.

"Sorry, but I gotta clean it."

' _With_ _snow?_ ' It drawls at him, ' _That_ _is_ not how _you clean a wound._ '

"Well yeah, but I don-" He starts to say, but the wolf ignores him, lying down.

'This _,_ is _how you clean a wound._ ' The wolf snarks, bending round, it starts to lick the wound clean.

"Ah." With all it's talking into his head, he somehow forgot that this is a _wolf_ , a big dog really if he thinks about it. Of course that's how it'd think to tend to it's wounds. Once done it looks back round at him.

' _See_ _?_ ' Al nods, not wanting to annoy it by telling it how unclean a tongue is. But, sure enough, the blood, dirt and melting snow are all gone and, he does have to admit, it does look better now. But still, he can see it's still bleeding, if only slightly now.

"Alright, you cleaned it. Now will you let me wrap it?"

A huff is the only reply he gets. Taking that as a yes, he gets to work.

* * *

 

Well, now he feels at least a _little_ less guilty. But he had to use all the bandages he had just to make the wrapping fit around it's large body. On the plus side though...

"Sweet! It's still here!" In all the excitement, he had almost forgot about the antelope. Though covered in snow, it's emerald horns are still visible.

"Alright. Time to make camp for the night." He decides. The sun is going down fast, and he's found his kill again, so this is the prefect place to spend the night.

' _Camp_ _?_ ' The voice asks, sounding confused as the wolf eyes the antelope.

"Yeah, you know. Make a fire and settle in for the night, get some sleep." He explains of handedly as he drags the antelope out of his trap and over to a tree.

' _You_ _plan to sleep? Out here, in the open?_ '

"Well, where else am I gonna sleep?" He asks as he sets to clearing away the snow by the tree's roots and building a fire from the sticks he finds.

' _A_ _cave preferably, but a borrow would be acceptable if big enough._ '

"Well you can go find a borrow but I'm staying right here."

Pulling the flint stones he always carries out, he starts the fire, bathing in it's warmth.

"Aaaahhh. Much better." He looks up to see the wolf watching him warily, "What?"

' _You_ _created flames with out casting..._ '

Al blinks at that, coming to a realisation. The wolf... it doesn't know what a camp is, or making fires without magic...

"You... you've never been around humans before have you?"

' _Of_ _course not! Why would I want to hang around such filthy creatures as you?!_ ' It grumbles, but Al get's the feeling it's embarrassed about it's lack of knowledge of the human realm, which, actually says a lot.

"Are you...from the Quivering mountains?" That would certainly explain a thing or two.

' _So_ _What if I am?_ ' The wolf huffs, pawing at the carcass.

"That's amazing..." He's awed, the mountains are one of the hardest places to live, no human has ever been beyond the foot hills and lived. Tales of great beast living there used to fill his childhood. But... that does raise the question...

"But, if your from the mountains, why are you here?" The wolf huffs, glaring at him.

' _Whatever_ _you know of the mountains human, assume that it is wrong. They are hell to all that live there._ ' It turns away from him, taking a large bite out of the antelope.

"Wha- Hey! That's mine!" He tries to pull it away, but the beast sinks it's teeth in and holds it down with it's paws, ripping it's frozen mouthful free. White face smeared with blood, it smirks at him.

' _No_ _,_ you _promised_ _me food and this,_ ' it presses it's paw down on the carcass, ' _is_ _food._ '

Well, there goes his plan to sell most of it at the market on his next trip to town. He shrugs.

"Guess we can share." But the beast growls at him when he reaches for the thing.

' _No_ _, this is_ mine.'

"Hey, Hey come on now! I said I'd feed you, I didn't say I'd give you _everything_ _._ Besides, I'll not eat anywhere _near_ what you will." But the wolf doesn't relent, so he tries a different tactic.

"Look, I'm hungry too you know, and if I die of starvation, you won't get all the food I promised you." That seams to work as the beast lets up on it's hold of his kill.

* * *

Quarrel sorted, the pair settle in, Alfred using a small knife to cut pieces free and cook them over the fire, while the wolf settles for the far more brutal approach of tearing it apart, piece by piece. It wasn't kidding about being starving. In the end he had a little over a shoulder to himself, while he watches the wolf strip the carcass down to the bones, and even those it munched on. He was at least able to salvage the horns, pure emerald and, thankfully, inedible. But they'll fetch a nice price at the market.

Snow and fur soaked in blood, the wolf looks quite pleased as it lies down, cleaning itself. So this is going to be his life now? Sharing the majority of his trap kills with a seriously hungry wolf. Great...

"Hey, so do you have a name? I mean if I'm gonna be stuck with you for the winter, I'll need something to call you other than Wolf." It looks over at him, looking surprise by the question.

 _'_ _Yes_ _._ ' The voice floats through his mind, which he's somehow already become accustomed to, ' _Under_ _the full moons light, I was named Arthur.'_

Alfred blinks, falling back to lean heavily against the tree, steadying himself. He's not sure why, but if felt like something, just, passed _through_ __him__. A power he's never felt before, now pulses beneath his skin, flowing through his veins.

' _And_ _you human? Do you have a name?_ '

"Yes." He gasps out. Something inside him is telling him to answer. Almost like an... _urge_...pulling at the edges of his consciousness, he's almost _too_ aware as he gives his answer.

"By the setting sun, I was named Alfred Feral Jones the third, first son of Jacob, heir to the house of Kalmora."

He gasps, the power within him growing impossibly strong, pulsating, his heart races, it's too much! He falls to his side, across from him he sees Arthur too, stumble even as he's lying down, as if a force has shoved him across the snow. He watches, feeling strangely not in control of his body as he reaches out, the wolf doing the same. Hand and paw touch, a light of brilliant blue and shining green mix, then, darkness...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! And I didn't die so that's a plus. Thanks for being patient, now expect a lot more updates from here on out.
> 
> But aww, look they're getting along, wonder how long that'll last. And can I just say, I love wolf Arthur, he's so snarky. But, a pact has been made, whether Alfred realises it or not (probably not...)
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	5. My home, your food

The first thing Alfred was aware of when he woke was the freezing cold, seeping in through his armour and chilling him to the bone. So, nothing new there... what _was_ new was the odd throb of pain in his side and a feeling of power coursing through him, quietly, as if asleep. The second thing he noticed was the sound of a low growl, footsteps crunching the snow around him as something moves, circling him. He remains still, pretending to still be asleep as he subtly reaches for his sword, waiting for the right moment to strike...

_'_ _I_ _know your awake,_ get up!' A voice barks in his mind, snow landing on his face, he jolts up.

Blinking up at the wolf standing over him, "Oh shit!" He cries, scrambling away and grasps for his sword, only to be met with air.

"Wha?" He questions, confused, then, he suddenly remembers.

"Ooooh."

' _Yes_ _, Oh. Now tell me, what did you just_ do?' The wolf — _Arthur_ _,_ his mind suddenly reminds him, as if he's unable to think of him as anything else—glares.

"Me?" He wonders. He doesn't remember doing anything.

' _Do_ _not lie to me, hu-hu-h-_ Alfred,' Arthur spits out his name, oddly seeming unable to call him anything but his name, as he is. ' _I_ _am a Snow Wolf of the Quivering Mountains, I know_ magic _when_ _I see it. Now. Tell. Me. What. You. Did!_ ' He bites out the demand, anger evident in every word.

"Magic? Me? That's impossible, I don't know any. I have no natural propensity for the stuff. Never have, never will."

Arthur stares, his growl intensifying.

' _Then_ _how do you explain_ this?' Arthur raises his back leg, ripping the bandage free from his side and revealing his... healed wound?

"What? Do you normally heal that fast?"

' _No_ _, you idiot! This was you!_ '

"It can't have been... I'm telling you, I don't _know_ any magic!" Al shakes his head, desperately trying to convince the other.

Arthur pauses, then paws at the snow, seeming uncomfortable for some reason.

'... _And_ _somehow I_ know _your_ _telling the truth..._ '

The pair stare at each other for a brief moment before quickly looking away. The situation is beginning to seriously weird Alfred out. Just a short while ago, he couldn't tell _anything_ Wolf Arthur was thinking, his mannerisms, his thought process, everything about him was a complete mystery, besides his plan to eat him that is.

But now... it's as if he can see inside his head, he can tell Arthur is thinking this through, every possibility is being considered and discarded at such a high speed it's making Al dizzy. And not just that, but that power he felt before seems to grow stronger the closer Arthur gets to him. It pulsates within him, growing and waning with Arthur's anger, it's as if he can... _feel_ _him_.

That... sounds _so_ wrong...

Arthur suddenly looks back up at him.

' _Well_ _, even if you_ did _do_ _something, I guess I can't complain. I can feel a power within me again, one I've not felt since leaving the Mountains, perhaps even_ stronger.'

Alfred nods, knowing how he feels, he just wonders what it means...

"Well, anyway, we should probably get going now." He decides to change topic, not wanting to linger on this any longer.

Arthur nods.

' _Lead_ _the way._ '

* * *

Home, or what passes for it. The old fort is relatively small compared to others built around the capital, but unlike those which were built to defend against invaders, his is only a glorified outpost at the edge of the kingdoms territory. The gray stone of the eight story tall fort barely stands out from the endless white surrounding it.

"Well, this is it..." Alfred tries to break the awkward silence between then.

Neither of them have said a word since heading out again, and he's beginning to wonder how they'll possibly be able to function around each other for the entire winter like this.

Arthur eyes the fort and open expanse around them warily. From whatever weird connection they now have, Alfred can tell he's been uncomfortable since they left the forest, the lack of cover setting him on edge. He gets the feeling that this is the furthest he's ever been from the mountains.

' _This_ _, is your home?_ ' He asks, looking around and sniffing the air.

"Yuuuup." He draws the word out, popping the p at the end, and receives an annoyed look from the other for it, "This is as good as it gets out here."

Arthur slows behind him, stopping before the entrance as Alfred pushed the heavy large oak doors open. In all his time out here, Alfred hasn't seen one other person come anywhere near the fort, so he sees no reason to build a lock into the doors.

Once inside, he heads straight for the hearth, quickly setting the fire going. He sighs in relief at the warmth. He looks back across the large hall, to the open doors, and sees Arthur still standing outside.

"Hey, you coming in or what?" He asks as he comes back over, he needs to close the doors if he wants to have a chance of warming this place up a bit.

Arthur pokes his head over the threshold, eyeing the place cautiously.

' _This_ _is what a man-made structure looks like?_ '

"Yeah. Well, I mean this _is_ a fort, so it's not exactly meant to be very homey, but I do what I can. Now are you coming in or staying out, cause I'd like to close these doors and get warmed up if you don't mind."

Arthur gives the place one more wary look before coming in, Al quickly pulling the doors shut behind him, bounding back over to the fire. He sits and watches Arthur as he moves about. The wolf sniffs every inch of the place, walking slowly as he looks about, claws clacking on the stone floor with every careful step. His large size made more apparent by the sparse furnishings of the hall and the tall walls, making it easy for him to move about unobstructed.

' _This_ _place. I have never seen a humans home before._ '

Alfred can tell he's both awed and simultaneously let down by it all, though he's not sure what he was expecting.

"Well, make yourself at home. Just don't pee on anything or whatever. I don't want you stinking this place up."

Arthur scrunches his face up at that.

' _You_ _are hardly one to talk to me about smell, and that is just disgusting. Why would I pee in a dwelling?_ '

"I don't know," He shrugs, "ain't that what wolves do, to mark their territory or something?"

' _Only_ _at the edges of our territory, not in our homes, that's just filthy._ '

"Well, Whatever." Al sighs, turning back to the fire.

He feels Arthur come up behind him, huffing warm air down his neck and causing his hair to flutter about his face.

' _What_ _do you think your doing? You promised me food remember?_ '

"What?" Al tips his head back, blinking up at the wolf, "But you just ate that whole antelope yesterday. You _can't_ still be hungry."

Alfred gapes as Arthur gives him an unimpressed look, their odd bond informing him of the wolfs ravenous hunger, an appetite for meat filling his mind.

"Okay...guess you are then."

' _Yes_ _, I am._ '

Sighing, but seeing no way around this, Alfred gets up.

"Alright, Wait here. I'll bring some stuff up."

With that, he grabs a torch, lighting it in the fire, and heads down to the pantry. The 'pantry' as he calls it, is actually the small underground dungeon. Given how few people ever come out this far north, he couldn't imagine ever having to use the three tiny cells, so, he repurposed the place. Now the freezing cold down here that was no doubt meant to chill prisoners, serves as the perfect way to preserve food for a long time. Summer here is barely any different than the winters, both are unbelievably cold, long, miserable, and make Alfred wish he could learn some time magic to go back and change the mistake he made that day.

He carefully makes his way down the frozen steps, torch lighting his way down into the darkness, past ventures have taught him to take his time. Once down, he uses the firelight to see the three cells. Each are filled with barrels of food, more than enough to last him through the winter. This was going to be his last venture out to his traps before he hunkered down for another four months of hellish solitude, but now it seems he'll have a companion this time.

"Geez, I must be starved of social interaction if I'm considering _Arthur_ as a companion..."

He voices his thoughts as he moves to the nearest cell. This one is filled with five barrels of salted deer and Recovl meat. If it's good enough for him, he doesn't think Arthur will complain too much, with how hungry he was giving off he'll probably eat just about anything. Balancing torch and barrel, he makes his way back up.

"Okay, you want food, I got plenty of it." He announces as he comes back into the hall, swinging the barrel down between them.

Arthur, who had taken to lying by the fire, stands and approaches him, sniffing the air, it doesn't take long for the wolf to start drooling, eyes lighting at the smell.

' _What_ _is it?_ ' His voice excitedly asks in his mind.

Alfred smirks, "Salted deer. Good stuff, and cheap, keeps well too."

He explains as he pulls the lid from the wooden container, slabs of meat and bone of various sizes can be seen filling the insides to the brim. Arthur licks his lips, before, without warning, he jumps at the barrel, knocking it from Alfred's hold and causing it to fall over. It doesn't roll far, as within seconds Arthur has it pinned and is snatching up the spilled meat, before quickly going onto the remaining contents of the barrel. He can just about get his snout in, using his tongue to reach, and smacking the container around, he easily gets every last slab of preserved meat.

Alfred stares, as what could easily have been several weeks worth of food, is gone in mere minutes.

Arthur sits back, having licked the barrel clean, only a few lager bones remain.

' _That_ _was delicious._ ' His eyes are practically sparkling with delight as he licks his lips clean, ' _Another_ _three of though's should fill me right up._ '

"T-three?!" Al splutters, aghast at the wolfs insatiable hunger.

Arthur fixes him with an unimpressed look.

' _Yes_ _, three. You said you have_ more _than_ _enough food to last the winter. So I shouldn't feel hungry for the next four months at least._ '

"More than enough for _me_ _._ For a human, I had no idea you could eat so much at once! You just ate a good two or three _weeks_ worth, there's noway I have enough to keep feeding you like that through the entire winter!" He exclaims. At this rate, he'll be eaten out of house and home in under a week!

Arthur gives him a sharp look, growling lowly, he stalks threateningly towards him.

' _You_ _. Will. Feed. Me. Or I will eat you right now, and then have the rest of your food stores to myself._ '

He warns dangerously, and just to run his point home that he's not joking, he springs on Al, pinning the man to the ground, growling, with teeth bared above him.

"Okay, Okay! I'll feed you, Gods!" He cries, and Arthur backs off, letting him up.

Resigning to his fate, Alfred repeats the journey down twice more, bringing up the oldest of his stores, whole fermented Calamk and frost beaver, just to spite Arthur with the horrible taste of the stuff. But his plan for revenge fails as the wolf eats it all just as eagerly.

Now finally sated, the Snow Wolf settles by the fire, quite content. Al sighs as he joins him, finally removing his armour. He considered keeping it on, but, with how peaceful Arthur is now, he doubts the wolf will try to attack him again.

Armour removed, he finally can pull his undershirt up to look at his side. The pain from before has long since ebbed into a quite throb, barely noticeable now. Twisting he frowns down at his side, using his hands to pull the skin to see better.

He stares at the sight he's met with.

Where once there had been only pale skin, no longer bronzed under the summer sun of his childhood home in the capital, he sees a marking he never had before imprinted in his flesh. Blue and green spiral together in mixing shades, growing fainter the further from the centre. Six distinct strokes of colour are set in a ring, the top three blue the bottom ones green, the ends of the strokes spiral in on themselves, shrinking and fading to nothing. At the centre it's as if someone had dropped two dyes into water, twining together, freezing them at the point of mixing and then imbedded it into his side, he's never seen anything like it.

Just what is going on here...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Arthur is suspicious and Alfred is clueless, who would have guessed. The pair finally make it to the fort and Arthur proceeds to quite literally eat Al out of house and home. Poor boy's going to have to find some more food and fast if he doesn't want to get eaten himself. And if anyone's interested, check out my tumblr were I've posted some art of the last scene.
> 
> Also bonus scene:
> 
> Alfred shifted from foot to foot thinking. The space before the hearth, a raised ledge that quickly becomes wonderfully warm from the fire, is where he'd normally sleep. He had spent quite some time saving up to by the fur skins he uses for his bed, but now, the space is completely taken over and his precious bed hidden beneath the wolf in his home. Arthur for his part, doesn't seem to notice or care about his predicament as he rolls onto his side, warming his back by the flames. So Alfred is left to decide, spend the night cold, or share with a wolf more than twice his size. It's a tough choice...
> 
> Arthur cracks an eye open to glare as Alfred climbs up onto the ledge, squishing up beside him. Neither say a word as he moves, quickly realising the only way this is going to work is if he lies on the wolf and so, silently he moves over, lying his back against Arthur's. Come morning, neither will acknowledge that Arthur had rolled over during the night, nor that Al had also turned into the wolf, sleeping peacefully in his paws, head buried in surprisingly soft fur.
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	6. Don’t wake sleeping wolves

**Chapter warning: blood**

* * *

Alfred sighed contently as he woke, oddly warm. Strange, since the fire should have gone out during the night, so he should be waking into freezing cold making him scramble to restart the flames. His bed also seems... softer, and is moving?

He slowly opens his eyes and immediately freezes. He sleeping on _Arthur_ _,_ he sleeping on the _gods_ _damn_ __wolf!__

As carefully as he can, like his life depends on it —which it might just— he slides away, at least enough to make it not seem as if he was just sleeping on the other. Though doing so returns him to the cold which he so hates, he's used to it.

Arthur stirs slightly, but thankfully, doesn't wake. Al sighs in relief and quietly turns to start up the fire again. As he works his mind wanders.

If Arthur continues to insist on eating so much each day, he'll only last about another week before his stores are completely emptied. That thought alone is terrifying, he's not had a completely empty pantry since he first was sent here, he's always been careful to have at least __one__ barrel full at all times.

If he doesn't get more food, then Arthur is sure to be done with it all and kill him. But there's no way he can catch enough in his traps, even in what passes for summer here he'd never kill that much. And now that winter is setting in strong, his chances of success are basically zero, and that's even if he __could__ go out and hunt. Something he has no hope of achieving given he'd freeze to death if he spent too long out there.

So hunting is out of the question. His only hope would be to buy enough, but he doubts he could afford that... So no hunting and buying is limited... he's _so_ dead...

Maybe he could convince Arthur to slow down, or at least spare him...

He sighs knowing neither are very likely but it's his only option if he wants to keep breathing. Turning, he regards the wolf that has a hold over his life now.

Sleeping, he looks almost peaceful, perhaps even nice. Al frowns at the beast, wondering about him, this close, he begins to notice things that he hadn't from afar. His fur, which he had thought to be all white, actually has very light blonde markings. So light in colour, he can only just make them out sitting right next to him. The markings, found across his shoulders and down his face, fade seamlessly into the white, the black of his nose and the pads of his paws standing out. And Al knows he's strong too, muscles hidden beneath his thick coat, claws sharp and deadly. Plus, he's one of the few beasts of the world that are classed as _Magia_ _Bestiam_. Magia are rare, powerful, and not to be messed with, yet here he is, making nice with one hoping it'll spare his life in the long run.

He stares at the wolfs face, wondering why he doesn't feel like he should be afraid of him, why he seems to just _know_ that somehow, it'll work out. He blinks as his eyes catch on a scar, just below Arthur's right eye, running down the side of his face. Stupidly, he let's his curiosity get the better of him and scoots closer. The scar is not alone, as he hovers inches above Arthur's face he can see another two also follow the line of the first. Using his hand, Al gently traces the scars with his fingers, eye to jaw.

It's here, with his right arm outstretched, three fingers on the wolfs face that he realises what a dumb move he's made. Arthur, startled awake by the contact, snaps at him, catching Al's hand up to his wrist in his mouth and biting down, _hard_ _._

" _Aaaarrrrggghhh_ _!_ " He cries out in agony, nerves screaming in pain, as he feels teeth sink down into his arm, tearing his flesh and spilling his blood.

Arthur stares down at him, a rage in his eyes that truly terrifies Alfred, before he seems to recognise who's arm it is that he's currently trying to rip off, releasing him. He sits up as Al yanks his arm back, cradling his shredded wrist and hand to his chest. He tries to calm his racing heart as he looks around desperately. He's losing a hell of a lot of blood, and he doesn't even want to _look_ at the mangled mess he's holding, but he needs to fix it and _fast_ _,_ if he doesn't want to bleed out. But he doesn't have any bandages, having used the last of them before on Arthur. He's starting to feel light headed as he grabs for his discarded shirt, hurriedly wrapping it around his bleeding arm, blood completely soaking it in seconds. The shirt is red, his chest, his other hand, the bed skins and furs, Arthur's face, there all red with his blood. He knows he's doomed when darkness begins to enter his vision, desperately he looks to the only other around for help, Arthur, but he passes out before he can beg to be saved...

* * *

So Alfred is very surprised when he wakes up only a few hours later. Blinking, he momentarily wonders if he died and went to heaven, after all, he's warm, comfortable and his bed is lovely and soft and... moving? Wait, hasn't this already happened?

He looks around and freezes, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, as he realises he's lying on Arthur.

"Uh..." He blanks, not sure what to say, what even happened?

Arthur shifts, looking around at him.

' _Oh_ _. So your awake. Good, now you can feed me._ ' He says so casually Alfred is taken aback.

"Feed you? But my arm is... fine?" True enough, he's uninjured.

' _Hmm_ _? Oh, it healed._ ' The wolf supplies unhelpfully.

"Healed? _How_ _?_ Did you..." He trails off, somehow knowing the answer without having to hear it.

' _No_ _. Well, nothing_ intentionally _anyway_ _. But..._ ' He looks hard at the knight, ' _I_ _did_ feel _..._ _something_ _. This new power within me, it responded to your injury on it's own,_ it _healed_ _you, not me._ '

"What? That doesn't even make any sense, how can _magic_ act on it's own? I thought all magic required training and masses of conscious thought to be preformed."

' _It_ _does._ ' The seriousness of Arthur's voice in his mind rings like a bell, waking him up fully.

' _Something_ _is going on here, but I don't know what, and I_ hate _that_ _. Every time I think of you, I can only call you by name, not what you are. And...I..._ don't _want_ _to kill you anymore. I've tried to think about it but now it only seems...wrong to._ '

Alfred nods along to all of this.

"Yeah, I get what your saying, but I have no idea what's going on here." He stops, thinking for a moment.

"But...I _might_ know someone who can help figure this out."

' _Another_ _human?_ ' The wolf questions suspiciously causing the knight to roll his eyes.

"Well, Yeah, obviously. Not like I know any other wolves or anything that I can ask about all this weird shit."

Arthur growls, ' _Don't_ _get snide with me._ '

"Yeah, Yeah. So what do you say we go find the guy and ask him?" Arthur considers this.

' _As_ _much as I hate the idea of seeking out more_ humans, _I_ _hate not knowing more. Not knowing something is what gets you killed. Alright,_ ' he nods to Alfred, ' _let's_ _go find this other human._ '

"Great!"

' _But_ _first,_ ' Arthur somehow smirks with his wolf face an him, ' _You_ _still need to feed me breakfast._ '

Alfred groans, but heads off anyway.

Neither of them knew it at the time, but this decision would change their lives, _forever_ , shaping their future into what they are destined to become.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alfred, ever heard the saying; let sleeping dogs (or rather here, wolves) lie? Nope didn't think so. And a little hint to Arthur's past, those aren't the only scars he has. So what's going on? You'll just have to wait and see. And who is Al thinking might help?
> 
> Well, like I said before about this originally being abandoned, this is now as far as I had planned out (apart for a few plot points), but I don't want to end it here so I'll keep going as see where this story goes.
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	7. Path to the beginning

"Alright, I think that's everything." Alfred nods at the supplies and armour set out on the only table in the hall.

' _Oh_ _good, so_ now __we can leave?__ ' Arthur huffs from across the room, annoyed that the knight is taking so long. He'll never understand these humans, why are they so weak that they must wear the skin and fur of others? Or strengthen their hide with metal? Though, he can at least appreciate the boys plan to bring food.

Food is always good to have.

"Well _soooorrrryyy_ _._ But _some_ of us don't have a massive fur coat to keep warm out in the freezing cold." He snaps back, quickly getting annoyed with Arthur's general attitude.

Arthur, he's learning, thinks he's better than him in all ways, better than anybody really, especially humans since they're so weak, or so he thinks. Just because he has armour to protect himself, furs to stay warm and a sword to defend and attack with, all humans must be weak because they don't have these things naturally. And, yeah sure, on their own, most people wouldn't stand a chance out here, but if humans were so weak then they would have all been kill long ago. What Arthur doesn't understand is the ingenuity of mankind, the ability to _survive_ in places were they would normally die is what makes them great, at least, that's what Alfred thinks.

He sighs happily as he pulls his armour on, having spent most of the day repairing the piece the wolf broke before, and grabs his sword. Not the Sky Blade from before, that's beyond his skills to fix, but one of the many others he has stored in the tiny armoury. He looks his sword over, an Earth Blade, not his preferred weapon of choice, but he's still pretty handy with this one. He'll just have to remember that he'll be slower, but hit a lot harder. Sheathing his sword, he moves onto packing the supplies he gathered into a sack. Food rations are of most importance, now more than ever with Arthur's ravenous hunger, water, bandages made from some old cloth he found lying around, what little coin he has, the emerald horns and most importantly, his map.

Slinging the bag over his shoulder he turns back to Arthur.

"But yes, we can go now."

' _Finally_ _._ ' He drawls, standing and following Alfred out.

* * *

Normally it would be a two day ride to the nearest town, but sadly, Al's horse, who he'd had since before his exile, died four months ago, the cold was simply to much for her. Now, it's a four day walk at best through the snow.

He shivers as he pulls his fur cloak closer around him, the ice cold wind whipping about him, numbing his face and hands. Did he mention he _hates_ the cold?

Arthur, thanks to his thick fur, is completely unfazed by the freezing temperatures. Even as they walk, it's clear the wolf is far better suited for these climates than the knight, who's iron clad feet sink deep into the snow as they walk. The wolf's paws, despite being larger and heavier, don't sink to even half that of Alfred's.

Arthur smugly walks ahead as Al struggles onwards. But by his eighth fall flat on his face, the wolfs pleasure quickly turns to annoyance.

' _How_ _can you be_ so _useless_ _?_ ' He asks as he pauses, looking back, tilting his head as he watches the knight pick himself up once more.

"Shut it. I _hate_ this place. I'm not made for snow like you." He snaps, angry at both himself and Arthur's condescending attitude.

The wolf cocks his head more at this.

' _Then_ _why are you here?_ ' Arthur's voice is surprisingly gentle and full of curiosity as he asks this, catching the knight off guard.

He huffs as he knocks more snow of himself and continues trudging forward.

"Because I fucked up." He mumbles, not wanting to talk about back then.

Arthur pauses and sends him a perplexed look.

' _You_ _mated, upwards?_ ' He asks, voice full of confusion, not knowing such a feat was possible, or how that relates to him being here.

Al spins around to give the wolf an equally bewildered look.

"What? _No_! It's an expression!" He exclaims, waving his arms about trying to convey the meaning of his words, though Arthur only seems to become even more confused by the wild movements.

' _An_ _expression?_ '

"Yeah, it means I messed up."

The wolf frowns at him, ' _Then_ _why didn't you just say so?_ '

"Because! Argh," He sighs, turning back to his endless trudging, "forget it."

The wolf watches him for a moment before shaking his head and following on, thinking to himself how strange humans are.

* * *

After nearly a week of walking through the endless white expanse, the pair finally see the edge of town. Arthur, though not liking the openness, was impressed that the knight could navigate his way here. As a wolf, Arthur was able to follow the faint smell of the human settlement, growing stronger the closer they got, but the knight found his way here by only that small piece of what he called a map. As the outline of the town appears on the horizon, Arthur breathes deeply, taking in as much of the scents from the town as he can. Many of the smells are completely new and bewildering to the wolf. He'll never show it, but he's a bit afraid of this new place, a human settlement, he's never been this close to one...

He remembers the warnings of his pack about the dangers of humans.

His pack...

No! He shakes his head and marches forward, determined not to think about that anymore, and almost walks straight into the knight. Alfred turns to look at him from his place in the snow.

"Alright, you wait here." He gestures to the ground as he says this, as if giving a dog a command.

Arthur snarls at that, he is no __dog.__

' _Why_ _?_ ' He snaps, glaring suspiciously at the knight, but the bond they now have tells him the answer even as the boy attempts to explain himself.

"Dude, your a _massive_ wolf. The people in town will _freak_ if they see you walk in there. Just stay here and I'll go look for the guy."

It's a good argument he knows but...

Arthur glances around at the open plains of white. To stay out here alone... if he still had his pack...

He huffs and glares harder, using his size to tower over Alfred, trying to make himself look as intimidating as possible.

' _No_ _, I can't trust you._ ' It's a lie, but he'll be damned if he admits how he really feels.

' _How_ _do I know you won't just run off, or rally the other humans to attack me unawares?_ '

He watches the knights mouth open and close as he tries to formulate a response. So he lets out a low growl, showing his teeth a bit, just enough to look dangerous as he continues.

' _How_ _do I know you don't intend to break our deal?_ '

A threatening step closer is enough to get the response he wants.

"Okay! You can come, geez. I wasn't trying to get away or anything, I just didn't want to freak the towns people out. But, fine. Don't blame me when they start screaming and running at the sight of you, or try to attack you."

' _Fine_ _._ ' He huffs, backing off.

"Just..." Alfred looks him up and down thinking, "stay behind me. And don't do anything threatening. So no growling, or snarling, or glaring, or showing teeth, or anything like that, got it?"

He relaxes his face and dips his head in a nod, which seems to satisfy his companion, as he turns and resumes their walk to town. Arthur hopes the knight can't tell how relieved he is to not be left out in the open.

As they make it into town, he stays close to his human, keeping only a half step behind. The other humans all stare at their approach at first before fleeing into there dwellings, terrified. Screams go up and children as snatched by there parents and pulled away, within seconds the town is completely empty.

This doesn't last long as mere moments later, men dive out there homes, with any weapon they could find. The pair pause in the middle of town as they are confronted by the gathering of frighten townsmen. Pointed at them in shaking hands are a few swords, but most of the objects are unknown to Arthur, and that worries him, not knowing how dangerous they might be.

He wants to stand tall and growl and look as intimidating as he can, but...

Despite his large size, he tries to hide behind the knight and he hates himself for it. In the forest or the mountains he'd have no fear in meeting these people, their he would know the terrain, know how to hide when needed, he could plan how and where to attack from, but here...

Everything is new and unknown to him, he doesn't know where is safe, he can't hide himself in the snow and watch now that he's been seen.

As much as he hates it, Alfred is his only defence here.

From amongst the crowd, a tall man calls out to the knight.

"Al? What is this? Why did you bring that beast here?!"

Arthur thinks the man sounds a bit hysterical, but he can't be certain. He's only really had Alfred to learn human expressions off of, which isn't much. There also not speaking Wolf, so he can't understand what there saying, they could be threatening him or completely afraid. Just in case, he drops his tail and lowers his ears a little, just enough to look like he's not a threat, hoping that these humans can read his body language to know he doesn't mean them any harm, like Alfred told him.

Alfred steps forward, raising his arms out the the group.

"Chill guys. I promise you, Artie ain't going to hurt you. He's cool."

"Artie?" The man asks, looking confused.

The knight nods a bit too enthusiastically, "Yeah! See he's, uh," he looks back at the wolf and, probably seeing the worried look on Arthur's face smiles as he looks back to the men, "well he's a friend."

"That beast, is... your _friend_ _?_ "

The group look between each other, lost for an explanation.

' _Alfred_ _what are they saying?_ ' He tries not to sound too worried as he asks this, but he's pretty sure the knight can already tell how he's feeling.

Alfred turns his head to smile at him whispering, "Don't worry." Before looking back to the group.

"Yeah, it's a long story. Look can you put the weapons down? Your kinda making him nervous."

With a look of mass confusion, they all slowly lower the objects in there hands, and Alfred smiles as he feels Arthur breathe a sigh of relief down his back.

"Al, why are you here, with uh, Artie was it?"

"Mhmm. Actually, we're looking for Sadık, have you seen him around?"

"Oh, you just missed him. He left about a few days ago."

"Aww, damn."

Arthur watches curiously as the pair talk. The other humans, apparently having now deemed him not a threat, stare at him. He want's to snarl at them, to make them go away, but he's worried that doing so will agitate them into attacking.

Everything is interrupted however, by a piercing screech from the sky, acting as a trigger for all hell to break loose.

The men all suddenly snatch up their weapons, and group together, forming a tight circle facing outwards, objects raised at the sky.

Alfred too, seems trigger by the call as he draws his sword and looks up to the low clouds.

And Arthur thinks he knows why. That screeching was definitely the call of an Aigiddyrn, aerial hunters that like to sweep down from the clouds to take small prey. Though, small is relative here. Arthur knows he has nothing to fear from it, he's much too large, but the humans are definitely the right size for it.

Another screech, and the beast drops down out of the grey clouds directly above the group of men. The beast, all grey skin, long thin legs and taloned claws reaching down attacks the humans. It's large leathery wings flapping as it flies around them. It cries out another trilling caw from it's large teethed beak, as the humans fight back, one managing to land a hit to its legs, but not enough to break its tough hide. The creature swipes the weapon aside with one leg while grabbing at the man with the other, talons sinking into his arm and pulling him off the ground.

"Move!"

Alfred shouts as he dives for the pair, the group quickly parting out of his way. Arthur watches as the knight charges, jumping up and swinging his heavy sword at the Aigiddyrn's leg, severing it between ankle and knee.

It screeches in pain this time as it flies up, now no longer weighed down by its prey, black blood seeping from its severed leg, it flies off into the clouds. The man drops into the snow and grunts as he sits up, watching the beast fly off. The group falls silent as the fight ends.

"Dad!"

The quiet is broken by the cry of a young girl running out to latch onto the injured man, a woman quickly following her.

"Alecia! Get back inside, it's not safe!" She cries as she joins them, desperately grabbing at the girl.

"No, it's fine." Alfred assures them, "That thing won't be coming back here anytime soon."

"You saves me, thank you." The man says awed, offering his hand in thanks.

The knight beams, "Just doing my job."

Arthur is surprised by the way these humans act, relaxing now that the beast is gone, much like a pack would after an attack, but really, he couldn't care less about all that. There's something he's much more interested in.

Alfred blinks as he watches Arthur move through the group towards him. Though the others may not see him as an immediate threat anymore, he's still worried that they may attack him. But before he can warn Arthur to stay back, the wolfs purpose becomes clear. They all stare as, without a care in the world, the wolf snatches up the severed piece of leg and eats it.

"Eewwww!" The little girl voices all their thoughts.

"Hahahaha!" And Alfred can't help but laugh.

* * *

Alfred sips at his broth, listening to Fredric.

"So, that beast has been terrorising the town for a month now?"

"Yes."

The older man nods as he leans back in his seat. After the attack, Alfred had been invited in to the man's home for saving his life. Sitting down together, Al explained why he's here and how he met Arthur, in turn, Fredric explained about the creature and its attacks. From what he's been told, this creature has taken to attacking the town and taking children away. So the men banded together to fight it, but they're no warriors, so they had little success, some have also been taken or killed as they tried to defend themselves.

Al glares angrily down into his bowl, hating that he's been so close yet knew nothing about this. Strictly speaking, the town isn't under his care, since he's in exile, but he hates not being able to help when he's so close, especially since these attacks started just a day after he left the last time he was here.

Outside he can hear Alecia giggling as she plays with Arthur. After some more reassuring that Arthur won't harm anyone, the girl's curiosity got the better of her and she immediately ran up to him. Al was surprised by how gentle the wolf was with her, sure he knows Artie wouldn't hurt her, but he expected the wolf to growl and push the girl away.

Looking out the window, he can see the girl sitting on the wolfs back, playing with his fur, the girl's mother standing close by watching them play. Arthur doesn't seem too bothered, in fact, Al's pretty sure he's enjoying himself. Watching the pair, Alfred blinks as he suddenly has an idea.

"Thats it!" He shouts, slamming his hands down on the table as he stands, his broth sloshing in the bowl as a result.

"What?" Fredric asks, startled by the knights sudden movement.

Alfred grins widely at the man before diving out the door.

"Artie! Your still hungry, right?"

Surprised, the wolf snaps his head up from where Alecia had been pulling at his ears, causing the girl to stumble backwards, but Arthur catches her by moving his paw to balance her, electing another series of giggles.

' _Yes_ _, why?_ ' He asks confused before brightening, ears perking up, ' _Do_ _you have food?_ '

"Nope, but I know where to find some."

Arthur tilts his head at this, behind them Fredric comes out to see what's going on.

' _Find_ _some? You mean go on a hunt?_ '

"Yup!"

Both the family look between the pair confused.

"Alfred, who are you talking to?"

"Uh? Artie." He says this like its the most obvious thing in the world.

Fredric looks at him like he's lost his mind. A reasonable assumption, given that neither he nor his wife and daughter or anyone else for that matter can hear Arthur.

"Your talking to the wolf?" He asks slowly, worried about the boys mental health.

It's one thing to think that the knight had somehow tamed the beast, which looked to be the case when the creature obeyed him before, but after his tale and seeing him talking to the beast, he's not sure what to think anymore.

"You really can't hear him, huh?"

"Hear him?"

"Yeah, Arthur's voice, it's like I told you. I _thought_ no one could hear him talking when we got here. Man, I really wish Sadık was here, he'd know what's going on." He shakes his head then smiles, "But that can wait, because we're going to help you out first."

"Alfred, you've already helped, the beast is gone."

"But we need to make sure it _stays_ gone. So here's the plan." He turns to Arthur, smiling widely as he explains, "We go track it down and kill it. That way, the town will be free from any chance of it coming back, and you get a meal out of it."

The pair consider this. It's a solid plan, with the creature dead they won't have to live in fear anymore, and, remembering how Arthur gobbled up the leg, he's sure the wolf will be more than happy to eat the rest of it.

Arthur's eyes sparkle as he licks his lips and Al doesn't need anymore to know he's in.

"You would do this for us?"

"Sure!"

Plan decided, they spend the night in town, Alfred in Fredric's home while Arthur, due to his size, is forced to spend the night in the stables. Come morning, the pair set of to track down the Aigiddyrn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this time we get to see things from Arthur's perspective for a bit. He's a lot more unsure about all this than he lets on. And not being able to understand anyone who isn't a wolf or Alfred doesn't help, to him, it's all just noise, so Alfred really is his only way to understand what's going on. If he had a pack he'd be a lot more confident but, well... I'll just leave it at that.
> 
> But now we have a direction, killing monsters and find out what's going on between them. And they now have the towns trust with Arthur so woo. And yeah, they're looking for Turkey. I just like the idea of Turkey being the one in the know, so he'll turn up at some point.
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	8. The hunt begins

At dawns first light, the pair head out to begin the hunt.

After the biting incident nearly a week ago, Alfred has taken to simply calling to wake Arthur from a safe distance. The entrance to the barn is a close as he's willing to get.

Armour clad, he peers around the stable doors and between the two horses standing within to find his wolf. It's not hard, giving how big Arthur is, and his white fur stands out from the wood and straw bedding he's curled up on.

"Hey, Art, time to go." Al frowns when a twitch of the ear is all he gets in response.

"Arthur, come on."

He knows he's being ignored when the wolf rolls over, flicking his ears away from the sound of the knights voice. So, in retaliation, Al throws some horse dung he finds by his feet.

The ball makes a satisfying smack as it bounces off the wolfs head, causing Arthur to turn around to glare at him.

Al smirks back. That poo ball was frozen solid, and it was a pretty strong throw too.

The wolf starts to growl at him, but Al pays him no mind, turning and heading out, only calling back, "We're wasting daylight."

He can feel Arthur's eyes on him as he stomps out, but they have a full day ahead of them, Al can't worry about Arthur's morning temper today.

"We wish you luck." Fredric waves to them as they leave.

* * *

"Oh, come on. Your not _still_ mad at me?" Al sighs, following after the grumpy wolf.

Arthur is being difficult it seems.

The wolf has refused to talk to him all morning. This wouldn't be a problem, except he's relying on Arthur's sense of smell to track down the Aigiddyrn. For all he knows, Arthur could be leading him in circles.

"I said I was sorry!" He tries to plead his case for the fourth time, quickening his pace to catch up with the other.

But each time he tries to catch up, Arthur kicks snow back at him, then runs off ahead again.

"Peh!" He spits out snow that made it's way into his mouth will talking, dusting himself off once more.

"Fine! Be that way! Your acting like a _child_ you know!"

That seems to do the trick, as Arthur finally stops and turns back to face him, snarling and showing his teeth.

' _I'm_ _not the one who threw shit to wake someone up!_ ' He snaps and Al winces at the volume of Arthur's voice in his head.

"I said I was sorry!"

Arthur glares, flattening his ears back.

' _No_ _, you did that intentionally. You can't be sorry for something you_ meant _to_ _do._ '

"What else was I supposed to do?! You wouldn't listen, and there's no _way_ I'm getting close to wake you up again!"

' _You_ _didn't have to use horse shit!_ '

"It was the only thing at hand!"

' _That_ _doesn't mea-_ ' Arthur suddenly stops, ears pricking up, he turns looking around.

"What?" Alfred blinks at the sudden change in attitude.

"What is i-?"

' _Shh_ _!_ ' Arthur hushes him in his mind, ' _Something's_ _coming._ '

Like a switch had been flipped, the knight drops into a fighting stance, drawing his sword. He looks around, straining his ears to hear, his eyes to see, anything that might be coming.

The wolf flicks his ears about, before spinning, fixing in on a single point in the sky out in the distance. Alfred takes that as his cue, and joins him.

It's just like how training patrols with Gilbert were, he follows the lead of the one who can see the danger before everyone else.

A screeching fills the quiet and now Alfred knows exactly what's coming. An Aigiddyrn.

From the patchy clouds, the grey beast appears, descending rapidly, coming right for him.

It's a direct approach, straight on.

He takes a breath, placing his right foot back, and raises his sword, angled from ribs to shoulder across his body, and waits.

Beside him, he distantly hears Arthur growling, but the beast isn't interested in him.

The creature caws as it stretches its talons out, making to grab the knight.

Al smiles faintly as he makes his move.

With perfect timing honed from his years of training, he steps his right foot forward, and swings.

* * *

_"_ _Aigiddyrn_ _. Which one of you scrubs can tell me what that is?" Commander Beilschmidt asks, smirking as he paces on front of them._

_It's_ _the first time he's seen the man in person._

_Commander_ _Gilbert Beilschmidt, the Red Seer._

_Alfred_ _is both awed and absolutely terrified. The man's a living legend. The one responsible for single handedly securing victory at the sand pits of the Krineln Desert_ __three years ago._ _

_He_ _doesn't know if he should squeal like a love struck girl or piss himself and assume the fetal position._

_He_ _does neither._

_Instead_ _, he straightens his back as he shouts "I do, sir!" Drawing the man's attention to him._

_"_ _Oh_ _?" Red eye's land on him, looking over his scrawny twelve year old frame and smirks, "Well, do tell." He drawls challengingly._

_"_ _Aigiddyrn_ _, classed as one of the Caelum bestia. They're aerial humanoid hunters, notorious for stealing children and livestock in small settlements. Fully grown ones have also been known to go after adults."_

_Gilbert_ _uses his height to tower over him, staring him down._

_"_ _Primary_ _method of attack?"_

_"_ _Use_ _of cloud cover to catch prey unawares. Rapid descent, uses talons to grab and kill."_

_"_ _Habitat_ _?"_

_"_ _Mountainous_ _terrain. Dark damp caves."_

_"_ _Weakness_ _?"_

_"_ _Uh_ _," He stumbles, trying to remember anything that could count as a weakness, "They're not very smart?"_

_Gilbert's_ _red eyes flash, and suddenly it feels like he's paralysed, he can't even breathe._

_"_ _Wrong_ _." The elder stares hard at him, before smirking and his eyes flash again, releasing Alfred._

_His_ _smirk grows at Al's terrified face as he gasps for air._

_"_ _True_ _, they're not very smart, but that's not a true weakness. Something could be as dumb as a rock but it could still kill you. No," He paces away, back to the middle of the line up, turning on his heel to stare them all down, "An Aigiddyrn's weakness is..."_

* * *

"That they always attack in the same way!"

Sword slicing through the air, Al positions himself just right, crouching slightly, so that both legs miss, passing him by on either side of his head, then rising up again for the kill. Now, the creatures is open and, just like that, he brings his blade down on the exposed body, cutting easily through its thick hide thanks to the power of his sword. The lower half uselessly collides with his chest, while the upper sails over his head to land in the snow behind him, black blood staining the ground around him.

He sighs, wiping blood from his face and hair. It was a strange day indeed when he stopped being bothered by dead creature parts hitting him.

"Heh, Gil's method never fails." He smiles cheerily, looking to Arthur, but the wolf is already fast at work, devouring the carcass.

"Yuck," Al makes a face as he watches, "That _can't_ taste good, can it?"

Arthur doesn't answer, only tearing the body apart more, and pulling the legs away from Al.

"Hehe, relax dude, you can have it, trust me. There's no way in _hell_ I'd eat that."

That seems to satisfy the wolf as he relaxes, lying down to eat at a more leisurely rate.

Watching only makes Al's stomach turn, so he looks away, standing guard instead. He's always gone by the rule of Bleeds Red, be well Fed, Black, Yellow or Blue, more fool You. He'll snack on some of the Frost Bread Fredric's wife gave him later.

* * *

At least some good came out of that attack, Arthur is now in a much better mood, and is now back to talking to Alfred. According to the wolf, the Aigiddyrn from yesterday is close.

' _Just_ _up there._ ' He nods to the mountains towering over them.

Not the Quivering mountains at least, but these don't look any less hostile.

The knight sighs, looking at the climb ahead.

"Let me guess, it's in a cave at the top, right?"

' _Smells_ _like it._ ' Arthur agrees, causing Al the groan.

"Urgh, let's just get this over with."

If there was one thing in Alfred's life he hated worse than the cold, it was hiking up a mountain in full armour. Which also happened to be one of Gilbert's favourite 'character building' exercises.

But doing so in the freezing cold...

"This is my personal hell." He says with all the emotion of one who has given up on the hope of better days, accepting their fate.

' _Hmm_ _?_ ' Arthur looks back at him from his place several feet ahead.

He wasn't kidding when he said he came from the mountains, the wolf leaps from ledge to ledge with as much ease as a fish swimming through water.

"Gil always said," Al grunts as he struggles onwards, "That I'd know when I found it. Well, I've found it." He pauses, doubled over to catch his breath.

"What do you think of that? Mister Red Seer." He huffs breathlessly, tired, but pushes on regardless.

As close as they got, the man still never told him everything there is to know about his power, his gift. Gil likes to keep everyone guessing, but personally, Al thinks he does have _some_ _sort_ of prophetic power, and that maybe, Gil, is still keeping an eye out for him.

"Heh, wishful thinking..." He huffs under his breath, knowing full well he's on his own out here.

Well...

The knight looks to the wolf and, despite himself, gives a wobbly smile.

Maybe he's not as alone as he thinks.

Now if only they could find this damned cave before he keels over...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And off they go, plus some good old flashbacks. I love writing Gilbert, he knows the newbies are shit scared of him and uses it to mess with them. And his power is, well, in the words of another fandom: Spoilers.
> 
> And can I just say thank you too all my wonderful reviewers, you make my day. Really, your words are like rays of light in an endless black of self doubt. Your what motivate me to crank out these chapters quicker. Okay that's enough pretentiousness from me.
> 
> For now, I'll leave you with the image of Gilbert devising the most embarrassing way to kill creatures, then teaching it to terrified youngsters, while looking completely serious, but internally laughing.
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	9. An icy hunt

**Chapter warning: violence**

* * *

"Finally!" The knight practically weeps as he collapses into the cave entrance.

The cave of the injured Aigiddyrn just _had_ to be the one at the _very_ _top_ of the mountain. And it was no easy place to reach, well, for him anyway.

Alfred groans as he forces himself to roll over, tipping his head back to look into the cave. Arthur is happily lounging at the edge of a steep drop down into a tunnel to the heart of the cave, having been waiting for Alfred for several minutes now.

The wolf had no issue climbing over the sharp rocks that jutted out from the sheer rock-face as they climbed. Sharp claws and extremely grippy paw pads insuring he didn't slip once as he hopped rather gracefully up the steep climb. Alfred however, with his not at all grippy metal armour weighing him down had a much harder time, especially getting into the cave, which sits atop the biggest overhang he's ever seen.

At one point, he was forced to dangle from his fingers as he shifted along the ledge, a drop of several hundred feet awaiting him should he mess up.

But that's enough wasting time, they have a job to do, so, he climbs to his feet and draws his sword. The sound of the metal sliding against each other echos off the cave walls, making everything seem louder than normal.

Seeing that Alfred is now prepared, Arthur stands and leads the way down.

Past the initial drop, the cave slopes steeply downwards, quickly becoming pitch black as the light from outside doesn't reach down this far.

"Good thing I brought a torch."

In the last of the caves light, he fumbles with pulling the wood out and lighting it with the flints he always carries. It's time like these that he wishes he could use magic, things would be so much easier then. But after a moment, he manages, holding the fire out to light their way.

For a while, the only sounds are that of their footsteps and the crackle of the torch burning. Occasionally they can hear water dripping somewhere deeper down. Looking back over his shoulder, only darkness meets the knights sight.

Along with this, the cave gradually becomes narrower and damper, snowmelt wetting the rocks around them and making the descent slippery. As the tunnel shrinks, Arthur is froze to walk in front, then crouch in the increasingly cramped space. And Alfred can feel himself becoming jumpy, the torch casting eire shadows and the quiet, all putting thoughts of being watched in his head. It doesn't help when at one point Arthur pauses and sniffs warning him that ' _I_ _can smell more than one down here._ '

He's so wound up, that he nearly squeals when a drip of ice cold water lands on his neck.

Then, after what feels like an eternity, the cave opens up into a large carven.

The space feels massive after the tunnel down, but really, it's no bigger than a tiny house.

But the source of the dripping is clear now.

To the right is a small lake, most likely formed from the snowmelt runoff gathering down here, and to his left is a sharp ledge jutting out from the wall. But Arthur wasn't kidding...

On the ledge, he can clearly see two of the beasts, one lying across the injured one their after. But that is less concerning than the dozens of eggs grouped around the lake edge...

Alfred holds his breath at the sight.

This is _very_ bad...

They just walked right into a nest.

He jumps when one of the beasts shifts, but makes no further move.

Good.

The adults are asleep, so they're save for now.

"Arthur..." He whispers, not daring to speak any louder.

The wolf drops his head, ears going back, and Al knows exactly what he's thinking. There's no conceivable way that they can leave with out being heard and waking up the adults. And the tunnel is far too cramped to make a quick exit, so they'll just have to fight them here. If they can make it up to the beasts and kill them before the wake up, then they'd have a chance, but to do that...

Al looks down at his feet, surrounded by bones and pieces of egg shells. He might as well be standing in a mine field, a single miss step, and he'll wake them. And that's not even considering his noisy armour or Arthur's far larger paws.

He can't see a way around this until Arthur's voice enters his mind.

' _Get_ _back in the tunnel, I'll deal with this._ '

He want to argue, wants to tell the idiot, 'No, don't be insane.', but, he trusts the wolf so does as told. As silently as he can, he steps back up into the tunnel, watching to see what Arthur is planning.

As soon as his feet are clear, Arthur makes his move.

Crouching slightly, his eyes glow, spreading his paws out, using his magic. Alfred's jaw drops as he watches every inch of the cave floor freeze over, ice spreading outwards from the wolf, trapping the bones and shells in place, before creeping over them, and in a matter of seconds, the floor is incased in several inches of ice. Even the lake is now frozen solid, and Al shivers violently from the sheer cold.

Smirking Arthur soundlessly stalks across the ice, heading for the ledge.

Well, no time like the present.

Reaffirming his grip on his sword, Al joins him, quietly creeping after the wolf.

But Arthur didn't account for the change in temperature to wake the beasts.

Just as they near, the uninjured one wakes, instantly telling something is wrong and screeching its partner awake as well.

They take to the air just as Arthur pounces, missing the first, but grabbing hold of the others single leg with his teeth. The creature tries to fly away, but with his immense strength, the wolf jerks his head to the side, pulling the beast down and slamming it hard into the ground.

Screeching fills the air as one cries in pain while the other turns on Arthur.

"Arthur!"

Diving into action, Al charges across the ice, but slides, colliding with the cave wall as he scrambles to reach the fight. But he needn't have bothered.

From his position he can't see what's happening on the ledge, but a blast of cold air flows over him as Arthur, with the second creatures neck in his jaws, launches down from above, smashing the creature into the ice below. He watches as Arthur, with his front legs holding the creature down by the wings, rips its throat open, killing it. But the wolf was so focused on killing that one that he forgot about the other.

Good thing Al's there, as he pushes off the cave wall to slide across the ice in time to protect his companion, swinging his sword and slicing the second in half.

Silence falls as the fight is over as quickly as it started. The pairs heavy breathing the only sound between them as they recover from the adrenal rush. Back to back, the wolf standing poised over its kill, the knight on one knee, still in the same position from making his killing blow, sword held loosely at his side. The pair lit by the torch Al had dropped in the tunnel.

The knight finally sighs, standing to face his partner.

"Dude," Al whispers in awe, "that, was the single most awesome thing ever! What else can you do?"

He knew the wolf was magic, and could make and end Blizzard from their first meeting, but he had know idea he could _freeze_ the entire _room_.

Arthur smirks at him, raising his head in pride as he boasts, ' _I_ _am capable of_ far _more_ _than you can imagine._ '

"You have _got_ to show me!"

' _Perhaps_ _. If you keep providing me with food like this, I just might._ '

Alfred grins, liking the idea of more hunts together.

"Heh, yeah, we make a pretty good team."

And for once, the wolf actually smiles back at him.

' _Yes_ _, we do._ '

* * *

' _Mine_ _._ ' Arthur growls annoyed, some time later, when Alfred tries to grab for the beast carcass he's eating.

"Dude, I already told you, I don't want to _eat_ it. But I need that head. How else am I going to prove we killed it if you eat it all?"

He watches the wolf huff before begrudgingly allowing him to grab hold of the head. Now he takes his prize, as any good hunter knows, proof of the kill is best shown with the dead's head.

He sits down on the ice, taking out his knife and begins to cut through the neck.

"There." He smiles, holding up the severed head to show Arthur, "Now you can have the rest." He says as he stuffs the head in a separate bag for safe keeping, not bother by the black blood slowly dripping out of the bottom.

As Arthur eats, he looks over at the eggs worriedly.

"Sooo," He starts, flicking his eyes to his ever hungry friend, "what are we gonna do about those? I know we can't just leave them. If they hatch they'll just be even _more_ problems for the towns people. But I kinda feel bad about killing them. Horrible man-eating creatures aside, they're still just babies."

Not even pausing, Arthur flicks his eyes to the eggs and, like before, they glow and ice starts to creep up over the eggs, freezing them solid.

' _There_ _, now you don't have to._ '

"Dude, that was cold."

Arthur blinks at him, confused.

' _That_ _was the point._ '

"No, I meant... Never mind." He shakes his head, giving up.

If there's one thing he's learned, it's that Arthur can be oddly literal at times, while at others, he can understand things just fine.

"Okay, once your done, we can get going. We might even be able to make it back to town before nightfall."

* * *

Climbing back down the mountain side was never going to be easy, Al knew, but he didn't think he'd get stuck at the very beginning.

He leans over the edge of the cave entrance, trying to find a safe way down. But no matter how he looks at it, he's not getting down with out breaking something.

Actually seeing the knights difficulty, Arthur jumps back up to be beside him again.

' _What's_ _the matter?_ '

"Urgh, there's just no way I can get back down with out falling." He sighs as he lies on his stomach, giving up on finding a safe way down, "I'll just have to live the rest of my life up here."

Arthur tilts his head at him, looking between the drop and Alfred, before surprising the knight.

' _Don't_ _be ridiculous, your coming back down with me._ '

"Dude, I'll fall if I try."

' _Then_ _don't try._ '

Not looking at him, Arthur lies down beside him.

' _Come_ _on._ '

Confused, Alfred let's out an intelligent, "Huh?" Causing the Wolf to huff.

' _Get_ _on._ '

Al blinks, once, then twice for good measure, wondering if he heard that right.

"Get on... your back?"

Arthur rolls his eyes at the Knight's apparent cluelessness.

' _No_ _, my head,_ ' He drawls sarcastically before snapping, ' _Yes_ _my back, hurry up._ '

With no small amount of apprehension, he does as told, carefully approaching the other, before gently placing his hands on the wolfs back and swinging his leg over, mounting him.

' _Hold_ _on._ '

He warns as he stands, feeling the human shift about as he rises.

"W-whoah!"

With nothing else to hold onto, Al desperately grabs at Arthur's fur, holding on tightly as the wolf moves. Once standing, he adjusts his position, shifting back a bit to be sitting just behind Arthur's shoulders, moving his hand to grip the fur around the back of his neck, and squeezing his thighs to hold on with his legs.

It's kind of like riding a horse bareback.

Once he's sure he's seated as best he can, he sighs.

"O-okay. I'm good."

' _Good_ _._ '

And with that, Arthur begins the rapid descent down the mountain with Alfred holding on for dear life. If ever asked, the knight will absolutely deny having screamed as Arthur jumped off the edge, dropping several feet to land on the next rocky outcrop. Or having continued screaming with each jump. Though, past the terror, he can't help but feel an exhilaration, and once he realises he's not going to die, he starts to enjoy it.

"Hehehe! YEAH!"

Feeling their bond, Al leans into the jumps, adjusting himself to ease up his weight on Arthur at the right moments, and together, they descend faster and faster. This allows Arthur to quickly get up to his top speed, which Alfred learns, is pretty damn fast.

He could get used to this.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, team work. The pair are starting to get along quite well now as their friendship starts to develop over the sense of being stuck together. And Alfred is starting to realise that having a massive wolf as a friend might not be so bad after all, especially since when Arthur is well fed, he can actually be nice. Like giving him a lift down sheer drops.
> 
> This is one of those little plot points left over from the beginning of this story, just alfred riding Arthur like a badass.
> 
> They might just be able to get along together.
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	10. Finding answers

It was quite a sight for the towns people when, as darkness fell, Alfred came charging in still riding atop Arthur. This time, people moved out of the way not in fear of being eaten, but of being run over.

Wolf and knight came to a skidding halt in the centre of the small village, successfully drawing everyone's attention to the pair.

Grinning like a manic, Al sat up straight as he lifted the bag with the creatures head high for all to see.

"You do not have to live in fear any longer, for we have killed the beast!" He shouts far louder than is strictly necessary to be heard by such a small group.

"Is it true?" Fredric asks as he makes his way to the front of the gathering, looking up at the knight.

"Heh, see for yourself." Al says as he tosses the frozen bag to the man.

The man scrambles to catch it, somehow managing to look both relieved and disturbed as he peers inside.

"Thank you, thank you! How can we ever repay you?"

"Hehe, no need. Just doing my job."

A chorus of thanks fill the air as the whole town move in to praise the pair, though mostly directed at Alfred.

Arthur, annoyed at being ignored, gets payback by suddenly shaking his body, dislodging Alfred from his place and causing the knight to fall off to the side, landing in the snow on his back.

"Owwwww..." He groans, blinking as he stares up at the sky slightly stunned, legs still in the air as they rest on the wolf's side.

Arthur turns his head back, looking down at the other and huffing hot air in his face.

' _Hmph_ _, that's what you get._ ' He shifts, causing Al's legs to fall and join the rest of him in the snow.

Around them, the towns people shift back worriedly, unsure what to make of the display.

But before they can react any further, the scene is disrupted by slow clapping emanating from behind the group.

The sound brings Alfred out of his temporary stupor, sitting up quickly to look between the people at the source of the sound.

"Hehe. For someone who's been exiled, there really isn't a dull moment with you. Hm, Al?" A voice laughs behind the crowd.

"I'd know that laugh anywhere." Al scrambles to his feet, easily slipping through the crowd to see the other.

"Sadık! Dude, your just the guy I've been looking for!" Pleasantly surprised at the appearance of his friend, the knight runs up to the older man, pulling him into a strong hug.

"Hehe, good to see you too." He grins beneath his mask as Al releases him, "And I see you've found some..." He tips his head to look past the knight to the wolf watching them, "Interesting company since I last saw you."

"Right!" Al slaps a hand to his face at having forgot the reason he was looking for the man in the first place, "Artie, come on over here!"

Sadık doesn't show it, but he's surprise when the wolf actually _obeys_ his friend, eyes widening behind his mask, before he quickly covers it with a lazy smirk.

Standing before the pair, Arthur purposely towers over the stranger, ears back slightly in warning.

"Artie, this is Sadık, the guy I told you about."

The wolf cocks his head, curious,' _This_ _is the human you seek?_ ' He questions, eyes narrowed as he leans in to sniff the other.

"Yeah. Sadık, Arthur."

' _His_ _smell is not from here._ ' Arthur huffs as he pulls back, having got all he needs.

"Well, Yeah. He's from one of the southern kingdoms."

"Wait," Sadık looks between the pair, "Al, are you... talking to it?"

"Well, yeah," Alfred gives his friend a look that says that this should be obvious, before he remembers he hasn't told his friend about anything yet.

"Right! I didn't tell you. Okay, so it's like this." He starts, about to launch into a full blown story of his journey since meeting Arthur, but is halted by the man holding up his hand.

"Whoa, hold it. This sounds like it's going to be quite the tale. Let's sit down for this first, eh?"

* * *

"...and then we came back here." Al finishes.

Sadık nods slowly, not having said a thing through the whole talk, listening closely to every word.

"That's..." he trails off, tipping his head back, he rocks his seat to be able to look out the window behind him in thought.

The surreal sight of a Giant Snow Wolf playing with several young children meeting him.

He sighs, dropping his seat back down and looking across at Alfred once more.

"That's quite the story. I don't think I'd believe it if I weren't seeing it for myself."

"So, do you think you can help us figure out what's going on?" The knight asks hopefully.

"Hmm." Sadık frowns, humming in deep thought.

Alfred sits patiently, waiting for the man to sift through his boundless knowledge, or so he hopes.

"What ever it is, it's definitely magic. Though no kind I've ever seen."

Al slumps in his seat dejectedly, hope crushed.

"So you don't know then..." He mumble sadly.

"Heh, I didn't say that." The masked man grins as Al snaps his head up to stare at him.

"I'll admit, I don't know what this is, but, I know where we can find out."

"Where?!" Al all but shouts, growing excited.

"Ah-ah-a," He tsks, waving a finger in front of the knight like a scolding parent, "Come on now Al, you know I never reveal my sources."

Sadık only grins wider as Al huffs, flopping back into his seat and crossing his arms like a kid.

"Sorry, Al. Nothing personal, it's just business. But since I like you, I'll just add this to your tab." Behind the mask, Al can see the other wink at him.

"First, let me have a look at that tattoo you mentioned. I might be able to match it to something."

Nodding, he quickly undoes his armour, pulling his under shirt off to show the masked man his side.

"See?"

"Interesting... There's no doubt that it's magical." The man nods to himself, memorising the image, now more set on finding answers than before.

"Alright, you've got me. Now I _really_ want to know what this is."

"For business?" Al grins cheekily at him, Sadık returning the look doubled.

"Business is best when I'm the one in the know after all." He stands, moving back from the table, "Be back in a flash!" He waves as iron red flames sprout up around him, and an instant later both he and the flames vanish.

Still smiling, Al pulls the rest of his armour off, switching to dress in the only spare clothes he as, pulling thick furs on. By now, he's used to the Southern man's fire warping, so he decides to head out to join in the fun with Arthur.

* * *

It's near midday the next day by the time Sadık returns in a flash of flames. Considerably dirtier than when he left, and carrying the oldest looking book Al has ever seen. But the excitement on his face is plain to see even under his mask as he waves to Al, jogging over to the other, currently helping to muck out the stables. Inside, Arthur is happily lounging in the straw bedding.

"Alfred! It's... it's..." The man gasps, out of breath.

"Whoa, chill dude, take it easy. I haven't seen you this worked up since I met you."

"Oh, trust me, this is _so_ much better than rare Aconite." He's so excited, Al can feel waves of heat rolling off of him, a result of his lack of concentration on his magic.

"Hehe, Alright. Let's go inside and talk." But the man rapidly shakes his head, pushing Al into the stables instead.

"No, no. Best you be with your wolf for this."

"Um, okay." He agrees, not having much choice as he's pushed in to sit with Arthur.

The wolf looks up as they enter, rolling from his side to be sitting up as Al is shoved excitedly to sit with him.

' _Oh_ _. Him again._ ' He glares.

"Be nice." Al scolds, even though Sadık can't hear him.

Grabbing a box, the man places it to sit between them as he drops down into the hay, gently placing the old book on the box.

"Alright, so, I looked everywhere for anything about magic relating to what you described. In every known Magia type there is; elementum, simul, variante, but nothing. Then! I got to thinking, what about the _unknown_ kinds of Magia. So I started digging into the _really_ old stuff, legends and tales of magic that existed long ago. Thats when I found this!" He taps the tome with the back of his hand to emphasise his point.

"What is it?"

_'_ _What's_ _the stupid human saying?_ ' Arthur huffs down Al's back, but he ignores him in favour of listening further to the older man.

"This, my dear boy, is the _last_ remaining Noceum codex." At Al's blank stare he sighs, remembering that the knight isn't one for books, "This is a six hundred year old book detailing _all_ Magia, an I mean _everything_ _._ Simply _possessing_ this book is a capital offence." That made the knight's eyes widen.

"Ah, relax. Your exiled, not like they're going to find out."

"Exiled or not, I still obey the laws!" Al cries affronted.

True, in the past two years he may have become a bit... _lenient_ in his upholding of them, but he's never blatantly gone out of his way to commit an offence.

Sadık waves a hand at him, dismissing his complaint, "Oh, trust me. It's worth it."

"Fine," Al huffs through his nose, crossing his arms childishly, "Forgetting your in possession of an _illegal_ book, what's in this Noeum thing that's so good?"

"The _Noceum_ codex," he corrects with a frown at Al's poor pronunciation, "Is a manuscript of the collective findings of the Noceum order. And before you ask, they were a religious sect that was known for they're great skill in magic. Supposedly, the order was made up of five central members, each a master of one of the five key elemental magics."

"Right, so what's that got to do with anything?"

"I'm getting to that! Gods, boy, you have no patience. The orders goal was to gain control of all magic, and some of the stuff they did was pretty nasty. I'll spare you the detail. But, one good thing they did was record all their work, in books like this one. An in here, I found this." He carefully flips the book open to a specific page, turning it so Al can see.

"Uh!" Al gasps at the pages.

For in the open book, words in a language he can't read are scrawled this way and that. But this is not what catches his attention. What he stares at is the illustrations, one, a depiction of a tattoo just like his, though coloured purple and gold, and another, the image of a man and some sort of beast. It's clear this is about exactly what is going on with Al, now if only he could read it...

Sadık turns the book back around after a moment grinning, "Bet you'd like to know what it says?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"Heh. Ahem. 'Domino bestia. Man, by blood and binding, shall connect and control the minds of the Wild. Unto his Will, he may mould them, and by doing so, Shall become one with them.'"

"Eh, that's it?"

"Give me a sec. This is a very old language, it's not easy to translate. Now, let's see. It talks of a bonding Ceremony, after which that mark appears, called the mark of Binding. Those bonded are tied together through their magic and can take on the skills? No, more like attributes of the beast they bind with. This connection doesn't require conscious thought to be maintained and can apparently last your whole life."

"What?!"

' _What_ _? What is it?_ ' Arthur is beginning to feel quite left out of the loop, only understanding half of the conversation, and not the important half.

"Let's see... An new binding symbol will form with each new bond, but only one bond can be maintained at a time. There's a note on breaking a bond but, well..."

"Well what?"

"Let's just say these people _really_ didn't care _how_ they got their results. Trust me, you _don't_ want to know."

"Okaaay, anything else?"

"Hmm. There's a lot of nonsense scribbled in the corners, but something about shared feelings? Or, emotions? Argh, it's not very clear and the wording is all over the place." He frowns, running his finger over the words as he tries to decipher their meaning.

"Oh! This might be interesting. Al, place your hands out to the wolf."

"He has a name you know, but like this?"

"No, palms up, yeah, now, close your eyes and try concentrating on him, focus on what his energy feels like." Al sighs, but does as told.

Arthur watches, now very confused.

' _Alfred_ _, what_ are __you doing?__ '

"Focus kid, _feel_ the energy between you."

"I don't know what your hoping for, you know I can't use magic." He quips still with his eyes closed.

"Just try. Come on, what's the worst that could happen?"

" _Fine_ _._ "

"Come on, Al. You can do it. _Concentrate_ _._ " Sadık urges.

Al tries, thinking of Arthur, envisioning him in his mind, focusing on the energy that he can feel sleeping within him, that connects them, and slowly, he can feel it bubbling up to the surface. He let's out a breath as he relaxes, and suddenly that energy is at the forefront of his mind, sitting at the tips of his fingers, making his hand start to tingle.

He snaps his eyes open and stares...

His hands...

They're covered in ice.

"Wha?!"

He looses his concentration, the energy, now not held in place, crackles as it bursts free, ice shattering as blue waves of raw power shoots out from him, freezing solid anything that they come in contact with. It only lasts a second, but the act was completely mind blowing to the knight.

And draining...

"Whaaa 'appennn'd?" He slurs, falling over, no longer having the energy to remain sitting up right.

' _Al_ _!_ ' The blurry figure of Arthur jumping to his feet dances across his tired vision.

"Good news, Al! You have magic afterall!"

Sadık's deep laughter and Arthur's low growl are the last things he hears before he falls into the black of unconsciousness...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that happened... Turkey with some good old exposition for the win.
> 
> Okay, bit of explanation: Magic in this world is divided into 3 classes; elementum, simul, variante. Which, if you know your Latin, like I don't, means; Elemental, combine and variant.
> 
> First, Elemental is classed as singular control of one of the 5 base elements; Earth, Wind, Fire, Water and the hardest of all, Energy. This class is extremely rare, so not many people have it.
> 
> Second is Combinative magic, this, as you might expect, is classed as magics that combine two or more of the base elements. This isn't as rare as pure Elemental, but is still quite uncommon.
> 
> And lastly is Variant magic. This is the most common type of magic, and is classed as any magic that is a lower variation of the base elements.
> 
> So, for example, Arthur's Ice magic is a Variant of the Water base. Meanwhile Turkey's Fire warping is a type of Combinative magic of the Fire and Energy bases, while the heat Al felt was from a Variant of the Fire Base.
> 
> Along with these 3 classes, magic is further subdivided into 2 main types of use; Internal and External. This is pretty simple, Internal is any magic an individual actively creates, while External is magic bound to an object or person which doesn't require the user to supply.
> 
> So, Internal would be Arthur's Ice magic while External is the type of magic Al relies upon in his sword and armour.
> 
> Okay, explanation over, I hope that all makes sense. This'll get explained more in the next few chapters, but I thought I'd lay it all out here just in case.
> 
> And to the anon who asked if our dear wolf and knight's relationship will remain platonic or become romantic? Well... *cue cheesy T.V ad voice* This is where you, dear viewer, come in! For just one review, you too, can have your say in how you'd like to see this story go! *end silly voice*
> 
> But really, at this point I could make it go anyway. I have plans, but I want to know what you guy's think.
> 
> Okay, Long authors notes is long, but hopefully slightly longer chapter makes up for it.
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	11. Understanding

                              ' _..._ _re_ _..._ '

                                                          ' _..._ _ke_ _up..._ '

                   ' _..._ _Al_ _...p..._ '

Alfred groans at the distant sounds drifting through his mind. He can feel warm air moving over his face, coming in long puffs and smelling oddly familiar...

Hmm, something is nudging him...

' _..._ _wake_ _up..._ '

The sounds gradually become clearer, and he swears he can hear something whining by his head, gently nudging him again.

' _..._ _wake_ _up Al,_ please _ _...__ '

Something about the desperation in the voice and the sad whine acts as a trigger, pulling him back into the waking world.

"Urrrgh... uuuhhh?" He blinks, vision blurry as he looks up.

A large white object sighs in clear relief as it looks down at him.

He blinks a few more times, eye's focusing, and finally sees it's Arthur's head.

"Aarrr?" He tries to ask, but his voice comes out as a slurred mess.

' _Lie_ _still, your alright._ '

Mind still not fully up to speed, he just blinks up at the wolf, eyes catching on a splash of red on his muzzle. Not really thinking, he lifts his hand up, arm feeling weirdly heavy, to touch the red.

"'Ooouurr 'uuurrt." He tries to talk, but Arthur just shakes his head, nudging his hand back down.

' _I'm_ _fine._ ' He assures him, but this makes Al frown.

"'Oouu 'aavvee 'uuudd on 'oouur 'aaccee." He tries to say, pointing out the red, now knowing it to be blood.

Arthur's face doesn't give anything away as he simply says, ' _It's_ _not mine._ '

His eyes begin to drift shut, feeling incredibly tired for some reason, but Arthur nudges him again, forcing him to stay awake.

' _No_ _, you mustn't sleep._ '

"Mmhh... 'iirr'dd..."

' _I_ _know, but you can't sleep now._ '

When his eyes start to close again, Arthur grows more agitated, sounding panicked, shaking him a bit roughly, ' _No_ _, no. Al, don't sleep. Don't._ Please, _please_ _, don't sleep._ '

He groans again.

Arthur's barely making any sense, only continuing to beg him to not sleep, over and over again.

It's like he's scared...

Al frowns, forcing himself to focus on their bond.

He _is_ scared.

Al can feel his own heart begin to race from the wolfs fear.

Suddenly he doesn't feel tired anymore. In an instant, all his thoughts become solely focused on his friend. He forces himself to sit up, turning and crawling over to the wolf, he doesn't know why, but he feels like it's the _right_ thing to do.

He reaches up and wraps his arms around Arthur's neck, hugging him.

"It's okay. _I'm_ okay." He feels the wolf stiffen at his touch, before releasing a shaky breath, lowering his head onto the knights back, returning the hug.

"See? I told the damn beast you'd be fine. But did it listen? No!"

Alfred jumps back at the voice, turning to see Sadık standing at the entrance to the stables, right arm in a sling and left leg bandaged.

At the man's presence, Arthur jumps to his feet, growling threateningly, ears flat back and ready to strike.

"Wha? Arthur calm down." He stands wobbly, leaning on the stable wall for support.

' _Get_ _away!_ ' Arthur snaps, diving at the man, Sadık raising his left hand, ready to use his magic.

"Arthur, _stop_ _!_ " And like that time back when they met, he does as told, halting mid step.

Al pushes himself forward, switching from the wall to leaning on Arthur's side.

"Look, whatever happen, it wasn't Sadık's fault. He's a good friend, and I _know_ he'd never do anything to hurt me. So chill, Alright?"

'.. _._ '

Though he looks unconvinced, Arthur dips his head, standing down, choosing to simply glare at the masked man instead.

"So, uh, what _did_ just happen? And what happen to _you_?"

"Your idiot wolf happened!" Sadık fumes, before sighing, "He attacked me after you passed out. I _tried_ to tell him you'd be fine, but no, he wouldn't listen." Al's eyes widen at his friends claim.

"Artie, did you attack him?"

' _He_ _hurt you! He made you go into an un-waking sleep!_ ' Al blinks in surprise, taken aback.

Since when was Arthur this defensive about him? He thought the wolf didn't really like him, so where was this all suddenly coming from?

"Artie, your not making any sense, I just passed out, right? No big deal."

Now it was Arthur's turn to look surprised.

' _Not_ _..? But... you wouldn't wake!_ '

Now Al's beginning to understand. He smiles gently at the wolf, patting his side as he lessens his weight on him, feeling more steady on his feet now.

"I get it. I suppose out in the wild, there's not a lot of things that'll make you pass out." His smiles softens as he fully understands, Arthur's previous fear now clear to him, "It'd be dangerous. But don't worry, I wasn't going to die. And I'm fine now, see? No need to worry."

It takes a moment to sink in, but once it does, Arthur sighs, anger gone, he drops his glare. Wolf now calmed, Al turns his attention back to his friend.

"Sorry about him, he was just scared."

Much to the knights relief, Sadık grins.

"Yeah, I got that. And while you were out, I did a bit more reading. I should have realised sooner that he can only understand you." His grin morphs into a smirk as he continues, "But the bites were worth it. You'll wanna see this."

Without any further explanation he turns and heads back out.

Curious, Al follows, with a cautious Arthur right behind.

The few people milling about give them weary looks as they pass. Al thinks it's because they know Arthur attacked Sadık. But when they've walked a few steps away, the man turns, gesturing Al to look back.

What he sees makes his jaw drop.

Rising up out of the stables in jagged pillars are dozens of giant icicles, several feet wide and dozens more in height. It's like the stables have been turned into a massive ice hedgehog.

Alfred's mouth opens and closes, unable to form words. His first reaction is to look to Arthur, but the wolf also seems impressed, so he looks to Sadık for an explanation.

Seeing the knights gaping stare, he smirks and, in the most casual of voices says, "Yeah, that was you."

His mouth flaps uselessly for a good minute before he's able to squeak out, " _me_ _?!_ " The sound making the man laugh at his shock.

"Yup, you."

* * *

"Okay, explain it to me again."

Sadık sighs, tired of trying to get Alfred to understand.

"It's _simple_ _._ That ice was created by you tapping into your connection with the wolf."

"Arthur."

"Yeah, him. You did all that by accessing just a _tiny_ part of the power. But since your not used to using magic, you let out too much of your own energy along with it, that's why you passed out."

"Okay, I get _that_ but I _don't_ get _how_ _?_ I've never had magic before, so why would I just suddenly have it now?"

"That's what I've been reading. This gift of yours _is_ your magic. That's why you've never been able to learn any, because you never _needed_ to. Think of it like this; your body is a container for magic, but you can only fill it with so much at one time. This gift of yours has been filling you this whole time, so you never had any room to learn anything else. But now that you've tapped into it, you've popped the lid off, so now there's more room. And the first thing that's filled this new space is the link between you and him." He nods his head to the wolf, Arthur lying out in the snow as the pair talk in Fredric's house once more.

"So what? Now I can talk to any creature? Or just Arthur?"

"That's the thing, for all the books detail, that part was oddly lacking. It could be that you can only communicate with wolves, or it only works for Arthur, or maybe you just need to unlock it to work on other creatures."

Alfred frowns, thinking back, "Well, I was only able to start to talk to Artie when he was trying to eat me. And I _really_ don't want to replicate that just to be able to talk to something else."

"Good point. And it did say you can only bind with one at a time, so you may not even be able to as long as your bonded to him."

"Urgh..." Al groans, slumping across the table, "Don't remind me. How did I even manage to _bond_ with him?"

"Hehe, seems like you accidentally did the Bonding ceremony."

" _How_ though?"

"Simple, you asked for his name and gave yours in return. Seems that that's all there is to it."

"That's no fair! This power should come with a warning: don't ask for names unless you want to be stuck together forever."

"Hehe." The man laughs at his predicament, "Come on, it can't be that bad, _oh_ Beast master."

"Stop calling me that..." He mumbles into the table.

"Or do you prefer _Domino_ _bestia._ " The man laughs more when Al only groans louder at the official title.

"This sucks. What kind of rules are these, asking for a name seals a deal?"

"Hehehe, since when has the rules of magic ever made much sense? We live in a world were men can become like gods with enough training, what part of that makes sense to you?"

"Mmh..."

Sadık let's him wallow for a moment longer before changing the subject.

"So, what now?"

Al just raises his hands in a shrug, head still planted on the table.

"Oh, come on. You must have _something_ you want to do now that your a free man?"

"What part of this makes me sound _free_ to you?"

"The part were your not exiled anymore?"

Confused, Al finally lifts his head to look at the other. The man is grinning at him, knowing Al hasn't realised it yet.

"What do you mean?"

"Do I have to spell _everything_ out for you?" He makes it sound like he's annoyed, but his cocky grin shows he's just toying with the knight, "You told me before, your King's decree when he exiled you. 'You will remain there, until your days end, or until you discover your true calling.' This, Al, _is_ your true calling. Your a Beast master, the proof is playing with a bunch of _kids_ just outside."

"I... I'm not exiled anymore?"

"Nope. You've found your true calling, so you no longer need to guard that crummy fort. Your freed from your obligation, your debt has been paid."

Al stares, letting this sink in...

He's free, he can go home again...

He can go _home_ _._

"And you have been, ever since you met that wolf."

"..."

"Well?"

"... ** ** _YEEEEESSSSS!_**** " It's no exaggeration to say that Alfred's shout of joy could be clearly heard all around the town, the walls shaking from the sheer volume of his voice.

Sadık may just have gone deaf in one ear, but that doesn't stop him grinning as his friend topples his chair as he dives out the door, talking rapidly to the wolf who tilts his head at him in wonder.

He smirks, eyes sharp as he watches the knight even as he casts, warping away without another word.

* * *

"And where the _hell_ have you been?"

His smirk grows, " _Ooh_ , you'll _want_ to hear this."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mwhaha, Oh Turkey, what are you up to? So a bit more explanation on Al's power, and things are starting to happen elsewhere. But now Alfred gets to go home after two years away. What'll happen from here on out? You'll just have to wait and see.
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	12. Shattered past, hopeful future

Arthur is... unsure.

He's been feeling unsure about a lot of things lately. For the first time in his life, the instincts he's always relied upon to survive, can't tell him what to do.

What is right?

He listens as the knight talks with rapid excitement about going home. A home, Arthur knows nothing about, yet the boy seems set on the idea that that's where they're going next, first thing in the morning. Hell, even before daybreak he wants to head out.

Not that Arthur is against leaving this place, after all, there's no food for him here. But...

What is right...

Should he still stay with the knight? He has promised him food, and even continues to deliver on it. He's not been this full since before... then...

Or should he leave? He's a capable hunter, and if he were to go to those mountains they just came back from, he's sure he could find plenty to hunt throughout the rest of the winter. But then...

That would mean leaving Alfred...

What is right..?

Time was, when he didn't have to think so much about anything. Didn't have to worry about where his next meal would come from. When he was _feared_...

Now...

He's surrounded by _humans_ of all things, and they don't fear him. Not like they should. In fact, if he didn't know any better, he'd say they're _reassured_ by his presence. They act as if they feel _safe_ around him. Even letting their pups play with him.

No, wait. Not pups, what was it Al called them? Kids? Was that it?

Young ones anyway.

They climb all over him, and he doesn't even fight it, he _allows_ it. Only _allows_ , not... not like he's enjoying it...

What is _right_ _?_

He should growl, snap, _bite_ at them. He _should_ tear apart that boy that keeps tugging on his ear. He should. He _would_ have, before... then... and before Alfred...

Alfred...

He looks over at the knight, now free of that ever present armour, running around throwing snow at the little ones. He can feel it, this _bond_ they have. The boy's happy, the happiest Arthur has ever seen him in the short time they've known each other. But he can tell. No. He _knows_ , that this is the happiest he's been in two years.

The knight was chased from his home, by others. By those with more power. By those that rule the land.

Like he was...

But unlike him, Al can now go back. _He_ can go back to his family.

But Arthur can't, he _knows_ that's all been lost to him.

He sighs, dropping his head down onto his paws and closes his eyes. He can here the voices of the humans around him. Odd sounds that hold no meaning to him. Only Alfred's rings clear, ears tuned in to listen.

He misses this, being able to relax.

When that half faced _human_ hurt him, _hurt_ Al...

When he dropped, when he wouldn't wake...

Images flash behind his closed eyelids.

Teeth, claws, a voice of hell, _screaming_ _,_ blood...

So much _blood_ _..._

* * *

_'_ _Run_ _! Run! It's coming!'_

_'_ _Hurry_ _!'_

_'_ _Marianne_ _!'_

_'_ _Go_ _! Take Peter and_ ****_go!_** ** _'_

_'_ _Aaaaarrrhhh_ _!'_

_'_ _Alistair_ _!'_

_'_ _Go_ _! Just go!'_

_'_ _No_ _! Nonononono!'_

* * *

"Artie?"

He wakes with a start. It's dark now. Disoriented, he pulls himself back, keeping low, ears back and teeth bared, snarling at the danger.

"Hey, take it easy." A gentle voice tells him softly.

He blinks, no longer seeing rivers of blood, but a familiar face looking worriedly at him.

"Hey." Alfred smiles softly at him, voice quiet and gentle.

Alfred, right, not... then...

He can feel his breathing is quickened, his heart is racing. When did he fall asleep? Stupid dream.

"Are you Okay? You were whimpering." Alfred keeps looking at him, worried.

' _I_ _don't_ whimper.' He snaps. Or he tries to, but it just comes out sounding tired.

"Hey, it's alright." Al tells him as he steps closer, but stops when he drops his ears back in threat.

But he doesn't do anything more, doesn't growl or snap like he should, and when Alfred continues his approach, he doesn't stop him, even when the knight reaches out to him, he does nothing to show he doesn't want the other near.

Despite the cold, the knight sits with him, saying nothing.

Is this right?

He lost his pack once, but can he really consider a human part of a pack?

He doesn't know. But he does know one thing, he doesn't want to be alone anymore.

Pack or not, human or wolf, whatever it is they have, he'll take it.

Just _please_ _,_ don't let him be alone anymore.

* * *

Alfred is certain of two things. First, fate is a bitch that has it out for him. And second?

' _No_ _._ '

Arthur is the single most stubborn person? Wolf that he has ever met.

"Oh, come on! This'll make things _ten_ times easier."

' _No_ _, I am_ not _wearing_ that.'

Al sighs, wondering why he couldn't have bonded with a more reasonable wolf. For the past two hours he's been trying to convince Arthur, but the other is adamant in his refusal.

"Just try it, _please_ _._ "

' _I_ _am_ not _a_ _horse! I refuse to be made a fool of by wearing a_ saddle!'

"Come on, please Arthur." He begs for what feels like the millionth time, "It's like a months walk to the capital, but if I ride you, we could cut that time in half, _easily_ _._ "

' _I_ _am not your_ pet! _You_ _can't just go riding around on me as you please!_ ' Arthur shouts affronted, making Al wince whenever he raises his voice like that.

He sighs, lowering the saddle.

"What do I have to do to get you to work with me here?"

' _Nothing_ _! Because I don't work_ for _you_ _. I don't work for anyone. I'm not some beast you've tamed that you can just go prancing around on like you_ own _me_ _!_ '

"Of course not!" He cries, shaking his head wildly, "Your not a pet, or some random animal I'm trying to show off. We're a _team_ , Artie. I want all this to work for the _both_ of us."

Arthur huffs, but at least he seems to be listening.

"The faster we get there, the sooner you can have all the food you could _possibly_ want. I promise. And your a lot faster than me. _And_ we both know you can carry me just fine. But if we're going to be doing it for a long time, we'll _need_ a saddle. For you as much as me. I'll end up hurting your back riding bareback all the time and my legs'll get _super_ sore. I don't want to hurt you, and I'm not trying to humiliate you or anything." He sighs more heavily, dropping the saddle when Arthur shows no sign of being closer to agreeing.

"I just wanna go home." He murmurs to himself.

A silence passes between them for a time, before Arthur huffs.

' _Oh_ _,_ fine. _Let's_ _just get this over with._ '

"Wha- really?" He asks excitedly, looking up to the wolf.

' _Don't_ _make me repeat myself._ '

Grinning happily, Al snatches the saddle back up and immediately gets to work.

He grabs the biggest saddle blanket he can find and throws it over Arthur's back, then does the same with the saddle, immediately encountering a problem.

"It's not big enough." He tells the wolf, scratching his head.

Arthur's back is simply too wide for a horses saddle.

' _So_ _you made me do this for nothing._ ' Arthur sighs, both annoyed and relieved.

Al pulls the saddle off, taking a step back and thinking.

"I've got it!"

Arthur watches bemused as the knight dashes about the stables, grabbing seemingly any old odds and ends, before running outside, with a call of he'll be back.

He returns ten minutes later with even more stuff piled high in his arms.

"If a horses saddle won't fit you, then I'll simply have to _make_ one that does!" He reveals his brilliant idea as he sits next to the wolf, getting to work.

Alfred may not be the most skilled at this kind of thing, but like they say, necessity is the mother of invention. And he's had _plenty_ of time over the past two years to at least know how to _mend_ something. So how much harder could it be to _make_ something?

Apparently, quite hard. It takes him far longer than he thought it would to make his slapdash saddle from the random bits and pieces of fabric and leather he scraped together.

He holds up His finished creation to Arthur, who gives it a wary look as Al moves to put it on him. Some messing about later, and done! One working saddle, fit for a wolf.

Arthur though, is less thrilled, as he shakes and raises his back leg to scratch at it.

"Hey! Don't scratch it!"

' _It's_ _itchy._ ' He complains.

"You just need to get used to it. You'll see, it'll help in the long run, I promise."

' _Yeah_ _? Well, it better. Or I'm ripping it apart._ '

But Al just grins, climbing up, but Arthur immediately starts to complain.

' _Ooww_ _! What is that jabbing me in the side?_ '

"Huh? You mean the stirrups?"

' _Get_ _rid of them, they_ hurt!'

"But..." He tries to explain their purpose, but Arthur is having none of it.

' _Get_ _rid of them, or I_ swear, _I_ _will rip this to shreds right now._ '

Not wanting to lose all his mornings hard work, he quickly climbs back down, altering the saddle and removing the stirrups. It'll be harder to stay balanced with out them, but it'll still be better than no saddle at all.

"Alright, they're gone, but if I'm to get on, you'll need to lie down again."

Once back on, the pair adjust themselves, getting a feel for the saddle and Arthur for Alfred's still unfamiliar weight on his back.

"Well?" Al asks when he thinks they've both got this all figured out.

' _Hmm_ _, it's not_ completely _horrible_ _. I'll wear it, for_ now.'

"Great!"

And so, that was how the town bid farewell to the unlikely pair. Alfred grinning like an idiot as he rode atop a slightly annoyed Arthur, with a new destination in mind.

_Home_ _._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and welcome to a game I like to call: who's dead?
> 
> Haha...ha...aah.. I'm a terrible person.
> 
> So this is actually two chapters combine, since Arthur's one alone was too short, I just added it on to the start of the next, hope it doesn't come of as too weird like that.
> 
> But yeah, poor Artie doesn't have the nicest past. Man, what is with me giving him crappy back stories? This, my Pokemon au his dad's an ass, even in my Fruk one his mother is dead. I love ya really Artie, honest, your my fave, I just keep torturing you. Well, Alfred has his fair share in this too, so I guess it evens out.
> 
> But with his worry over Alfred passing out, and a very rapid explanation of what's going on between them — "Artie! Artie! I can go home! 'Cause I'm magic and your my beast and we're bonded for life and I can go home!" — Arthur is starting to reevaluate how he views the knight. Or at least that's what I'm hoping my writing shows.
> 
> But since I woke up to so many wonderful reviews, I'm feeling generous, so have a sneak peak of what's (distantly) to come:
> 
> The knights glared burned into him far hotter than the deserts sun. Just to prove his point, with a flick of his unarmed hand, he ordered one of the ethereal swords down. He didn't even blink as he mercilessly killed one of the random patrons of this gods forsaken dive.
> 
> "I won't ask again." He warns dangerously, pushing the tip of his own sword further down on the axe wielders throat, "Where can I find Lukas?"
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	13. Unwanted observations

"YEEEEAAAHHH!"

' _Will_ _you_ shut up?'

"Hehe, sorry."

He couldn't help it, riding Arthur at high speed across the open plains of the Ivory Expanse is just so _thrilling_ _._ He just had to shout into the wind, he was having so much fun.

Arthur just huffs below him, but doesn't slow. Even at this 'casual' pace, he's moving far faster than a horse. Alfred had suggested that they take their time, he doesn't want to burn Arthur out after all. But the wolf was just as keen to stretch his legs as the knight was to get home, bursting into a sprint as soon as they left the town, before dropping back down into a light run.

' _So_ _which way?_ '

"Just keep heading south, we'll run into a small town in a few hours at this pace." Alfred advises as he adjusts his hold on the edge of the saddle he made, trying to let up his weight on the key points of Arthur's back.

' _A_ _few hours?_ ' Arthur asks back, and Al can hear the smirk in his voice, ' _That_ _sounds like a challenge._ '

And Arthur took it head on, picking up speed with ease, the pair raced along so fast, Al could barely make out any distinct features in the snow, it all just blurred into one white mass.

* * *

By the time they could see the town, Arthur was breathing hard as he slowed, clearly having pushed himself to continue running at such speeds for so long. But when Al jumped down, he could see that Arthur was happy. Tired, but happy.

"We'll spend the night here." He says as he pats the wolf's side, walking alongside him into town.

The town, while still small, is much bigger than the half dozen houses of the last village. Old stone building sit tightly packed together around the central plaza, the market place. Alfred's been here a number of times since his exile, as it's the only place within the Ivory Expanse with decent supplies that come in on a somewhat regular basis. Since the town is essentially a trading outpost, nearly everyone that lives here runs a stall of some kind. Travelers from all over busy themselves bartering their wares, or are just passing through on their way to someplace else.

They've all seen plenty of weird things, but a fully armour knight with a giant wolf walking into town is by far the strangest. Since Arthur is just walking calmly, and not ripping Al to shreds, the people don't flee at the mere sight of him, but they do move back. The quiet bustle of the market is completely silenced by their arrival as everyone stops and stares.

' _Alfred_ _..._ ' Arthur sounds worried.

He can take people running in fear, at least that he understands. But all the staring is unnerving him, not knowing what they're all thinking, what they might do next. Al just smiles easily, giving him another reassuring pat on the leg.

It's quickly becoming apparent that this is just something they're going to have to get used to. Walking into a town is never going to be the same.

Not acting bothered at all, Alfred walks straight up to a particular stall, though they all look the same to Arthur.

"Sofronia, how's things?" He asks by way of greeting, leaning on the stall bench.

"Alfred..." The young woman says back slowly, eyes trained on the wolf behind her customer, "What is that..."

"Heh," grinning casually he answers, knowing the whole market is listening in, "He's a friend. Don't worry, he won't bite. Unless someone annoys him." At this, he casually flicks his eyes over to the slowly forming group of eavesdroppers, causing them to all dash away.

"Right..."

"Anyway," He says louder than necessary, bringing the woman's attention back to him by loudly dropping his broken Sky Blade onto the stall, "Can you fix this?" He asks casually, but there's no denying the hint of hopefulness in his voice.

Brown eyes widen as she snatches up the two half's, "Alfred Jones! How did you manage to break _this_?" She gasps, shocked that such a sword could be snapped in _half_ _._

"Hehe, funny story. But can you fix it?"

The woman frowns, already in work mode as she runs her hand over the faint runes imprinted into the sides of the sword. They glow a gentle light sky blue in response.

"The magic is still there, so you didn't _completely_ ruin it. A simple reforge and it would be as good as new." She concludes, nodding to herself as she's already planning out the repair process, "But a job like this won't come cheep." She warns.

"They never do." Al jokes, dropping the Emerald horns from the antelope down between them, "This should cover it." He smiles as the woman's eyes light up.

"Yes, this should do nicely." She practically beams, admiring the clear green of the horns.

"And," Al adds as she goes to take the horns, halting her hands movements to hover just short, "If you could put me and my friend here up for the night? That'd be great."

"Oh, you drive a hard bargain Jones." She chews her lower lip, looking longingly over the horns before sighing, "But Alright. You've got yourself a deal." She agrees, quickly grabbing the horns before Alfred can add anymore conditions to the deal.

* * *

' _What_ _are you doing?_ ' Arthur asks as he lies watching the night, enjoying the heat from the forge.

"Shh, I'm _trying_ to relax." Al hushes, eyes closed as he sits leaning against the back of the stone bath.

Despite what others tend to think, he _can_ actually think things through. And he'd already planned where he wanted them to stay the night. Sofronia is a friend he'd made here a few months after his exile, back when she noticed his continual visits to the town, when he was working on fixing up the Solace fort. She's quite the skilled Magia Smith, able to make a large variety of magic infused weapons and armour. So her place was first in mind, since he had always planned on coming here before everything in the last village. He _really_ wants his precious sword fixed, plus, the forge is easily the biggest building in town that isn't the stables, meaning that Arthur can fit in just fine.

Sure, Al may not be all about personal hygiene these days, but there really is only so much sleeping in barns someone can take before the smell gets too much. At least if Arthur gets dirty, he can just roll in the snow to get clean. But Alfred's not had a bath now in over two weeks, and he was _really_ starting to stink. Another benefit of Sofronia's place, the water bath for the forge also doubles as an easily heated bath. After all, why go to the trouble of heating water in your house, when you have a toasty forge sitting right outside that can do the job just fine?

He sighs as he sinks further into the hot water, steam rising up off the surface.

Arthur however, is still baffled by the idea, having never seen hot water before.

' _You_ _can relax in that?_ '

"Yes."

' _But_ _how? Isn't it just all wet?_ '

"Yeah but it's _sooooo_ warm."

' _But_ _doesn't_ _it hurt then?_ '

"Nope, it's _juuust_ right." He sighs again, in total bliss.

Arthur says nothing more, and Al thinks that that's the end of it, until he hears the wolf moving about. He cracks an eye open and nearly jumps as Arthur is right in front of him, looking down into the steamy water.

"Dude! Privacy!" He cries, quickly moving his hands to cover himself under the water.

But Arthur ignores him, frowning slightly as he sniffs, feeling the heat radiating off the surface.

' _So_ _being in here feels nice?_ '

"Yeah, well it _does_ when no one is staring down at my junk! Will you _please_ back off?!" He cries, not liking the proximity of the wolf to him when he's so exposed.

It was fine when he was on the other side of the room, not staring right at him. Thankfully, he sits back, but somehow raises an eyebrow at him, even though Al's pretty sure wolves don't have eyebrows.

' _Why_ _? Are you ashamed? Are they not an impressive size for you humans?_ ' Arthur asks, genuinely curious.

"What?! No! Yes! I don't know, why would you even ask that?" He cries, face turning red, and not from the heat of the water.

Arthur, it seems, can be very inquisitive when he's genuinely curious, as he doesn't let up, no matter how embarrassed Al becomes.

' _Is_ _that why you weren't a leader? Could you not beat out the other males?_ '

"No! Dude, that is _so_ _not_ how we do things!"

' _It's_ _not?_ ' The wolf tilts his head questioningly.

"No! I wasn't a leader because I was still working my way up!" He huffs, breathing heavily, still highly embarrassed.

Arthur just frowns, concluding that, ' _Humans_ _are strange._ ' Before thankfully walking back over to lie by the forge again. Alfred sighs in relief that he's no longer being judged, sinking back down into the water.

But now he's unable to relax again, so, sighing once more, he carefully climbs back out, keeping his back to the curious wolf as he grabs for the nearby towel. He thinks that that's the end of his embarrassment, but, apparently the Gods have it out for him.

Just as he's reaching for the towel, Sofronia walks in with his now cleaned clothes, and looks him over, smirking.

"Nice, but I've seen better." She says, tossing his clothes at him and laughing as she walks back out.

And just to add insult to injury Arthur says knowingly, ' _So_ _it's_ not _impressive_ _._ ' As if he's finally unraveled a mystery.

Al groans, just what did he do to deserve this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha dick jokes. Well more like ball jokes, but it's all the same humour. Fun fact! Many species of male animals use testicle size to determine dominance, so that last scene wasn't completely out of nowhere. As for what that means for our boys? Well, I'll leave that up to your imagination for now. A few people have voted for romance so... *shrugs*
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	14. Magic lessons

Since the break to his sword is apparently harder to fix than Al thought, the pair decide to spend some more time in town while Sofronia works on the repairs.

No longer carrying around a half broken sword and a large set of horns, Al's bag is now considerably emptier. So he spends the better half of the first day buying more supplies for the road and, since Arthur is going to be doing most of the work, he uses the last of his coin to by a half dear to feed him.

Safe to say anyone thinking of robbing them was scared off as Arthur devoured the deer in the middle of the market. No point dragging it all the way round to the forge when he could just eat it then and there.

By the second day, Alfred was completely bored with nothing to do but sit around and wait. But he soon found ways to amuse himself.

He played with the few kids running around, creating a massive game of hide and seek with Arthur as the one searching. The kids, quickly catching on that Arthur could sniff them out, began to hide themselves in more and more creative ways, one boy going so far as to cover himself with the strong smelling tanning dye of his fathers shop. But even that wasn't enough to outwit Arthur.

Realising that they couldn't win, the game quickly developed into a snowball fight instead, all the children against Alfred who took to using Arthur as a shield, much to the wolf's annoyance.

But even the children soon tired, leaving Al with nothing to do again.

Bored once more, he took to thinking.

It's been two whole years since he was exiled. He's not seen or even heard from his brother since then. His younger twin, Mattie, his only family left. And he had to abandon him all because he messed up.

What's he up to now? How's he been all this time?

The last he knew, his brother was working to become an apprentice Book Keeper. It sounds boring to him, but Mattie was all over it. Records and archives of ancient knowledge, everything there is to know about the capital, or the entire kingdom.

His brother's always been the smart one, he just hopes that he was able to use that big brain of his to keep safe.

He misses him.

"Just a little longer Mattie. I'll be home soon." He promises.

His brother was always good at magic too, just like seemingly _everyone_ else around him.

He lifts his hands out above his head as he lies back on a bench across from the forge.

He'd bet anything that Mattie would know how to use _his_ magic. He'd have figured all this out on the first _day_ _._

He frowns, trying to remember what Sadık told him.

He has to focus, feel the energy within him, feel the connection he has with Arthur.

Regulating his breathing, he stares up at his hands as he feels the energy bubbling back up inside him. He watches as his hands start to tingle like before, ice slowly creeping around them, covering them. It's an odd sensation, the strange tingling, but his hands aren't cold, even as they freeze over.

He lets out a breath, slowly pushing the energy back down, so that it doesn't all burst out again. Once returned to the back of his mind, he studies his hands. The ice is only a few millimetres thick, and breaks when he wiggles his fingers, little shards dropping down to melt on his face.

Not much use then, is it?

But he knows he can do a _lot_ more, the 'ice hedgehog' he made was proof of that. But how does he control that?

Just how _do_ you control magic? Thinking back to the few times he tried to learn, he can recall a few things.

Magic is power. But that power is limited. It is in the application, the _use_ of that power that determines it's strength. It must be given direction, it must be given _form_ to be of any use.

But how do you give power form?

Magic use is a conscious thought, so, logically, he has to think about it right?

Just think, he can do that.

He frowns as he holds his hands out once more, concentrating on pushing the magic up and out his hands. They freeze over like before, but nothing else happens, no matter how hard he tries imagining forming more ice, focusing on making the magic form a ball of ice in his hands, nothing.

He sighs, dropping his arms and giving up.

' _You'll_ _never get anywhere like that._ '

He sits up as Arthur comes in, looking pointedly at his ice covered hands.

Of course! Why didn't he think of asking Arthur sooner?

"Hey, you could teach me then? Show me how to control my magic."

The wolf frowns, thinking it over as he lies down by the fire.

' _I_ _suppose_ _I could. Better than seeing you waste your time_ and energy _pointlessly_ _failing._ '

"Yeah, Yeah!" Al agrees, nodding rapidly.

Even though he's pretty sure that was some kind of dig at him, he doesn't care. He'll do anything to finally learn how to use magic.

Arthur raises his head as he lies facing him, looking oddly regal as he begins his lesson.

' _Firstly_ _, assume everything that half faced human told you was wrong._ '

"Half faced? You mean Sadık's mask?"

Arthur glares, ' _I_ _don't_ _care for his name, just know that he was wrong._ '

"Okay, Okay."

' _Good_ _. Now just do as I tell you._ Don't _ask_ _questions, and_ don't _think_ _._ ' He warns.

When Al nods he continues, ' _Magic_ _is not some external force, it is a part of you, like an invisible limb. And using it is no different. Focus not on the magic itself, but on the function you wish it to preform. Like moving a leg, you do not think on the leg, but where you want to walk. Your power is your own, and you must bend it to_ your _will_ _. Breathe, and_ it _shall_ _breathe. Move, and_ it _shall_ _move. Fight, and_ it _shall_ _fight. You and it are one and the same. Own it, as you own yourself._ ' He dips his head, narrowing his eyes at the knight, ' _Now_ breathe.' He commands.

Al does, and watches as despite the warm air in here, his breath comes out in a mist.

Arthur narrows his eyes more, raising himself up.

' _Now_ _,_ freeze.'

Al watches amazed as ice creeps out from all around him, freezing over the bench and crawling over the ground. But he's not doing anything, just sitting. He doesn't feel the tingling from before, or the cold of the ice, nothing seems different at all.

And when his mind questions this, that's when he suddenly loses the control he didn't know he had. The slowly creeping ice stops as waves of magic roll out of him, creating icicles all over the room.

He begins to panic as he can't bring it back under control, when Arthur tackles him, knocking him over the back of the bench and the ice stops.

He blinks up at the wolf standing over him, green eyes glowing.

' _I_ _told_ _you_ not _to_ _question_ _it._ ' He glares, while Alfred's mind suddenly feels very sluggish.

' _You_ _have the control of a_ pup.' Arthur snaps, green eyes returning to normal.

It takes a good minute for Al's mind to catch up and realise he's been insulted.

Arthur purposely breathes warm air in his face as he turns, going back to his place by the forge.

This is going to be a lot harder than he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alfred's learning, slowly, but surely. And Arthur makes for one strict teacher.
> 
> Okay so I'm not sure how well I managed to explain what's going on, so I'll try to clarify.
> 
> Basically, you can think of it as there are two schools of thought on how to use magic. The first, the way that Alfred was remembering, and what Sadık told him, can be seen as 'direct control'. Were the user directly thinks on the magic itself, and what form they want it to take. The second way, the way Arthur is trying to teach Al, is 'indirect control.' Were the user thinks not about the magic, but solely on what they want the magic to do.
> 
> Like the example Arthur uses: direct control would be thinking about all the muscles you need to use, and how, in order to move your legs as you walk. Whereas Arthur's way is to simply think about where your going to walk, not about how.
> 
> So because Alfred started to question how he was doing it and not what he was going to do with the magic, he lost control and Arthur had to stop him.
> 
> Hope that makes sense, cause it sure as Hell melted my brain coming up with it.
> 
> This'll all be important later.
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	15. Homeward bound

"Aah! Sofronia your the _best_ _!_ " Alfred gushes as he looks over his now fixed Sky Blade, good as new.

"Well it wasn't easy, believe me. That sword is a lot older than it looks, where'd you get it?" She asks, brown eyes inquisitive.

"It was a gift," He smiles sadly down at his beloved sword, "from my father."

"Huh. Well, whoever made it really knew their stuff, the magic wasn't damaged at all, even though you split the runes. That takes skill."

Alfred's not sure if she's talking about the magic thing or him breaking the runes.

"Thanks. Seriously. I don't know what I would have done if you couldn't fix it."

"Yeah, well just be more careful next time." She grins, "But now that your sword is fixed, I assume that means you'll be off?"

"Yup!" He beams.

"Good, then that means I can have my forge back." With that, she waves as she wanders off, leaving the knight feeling like he's just been kicked out.

Not that it really matters. He sheaths his Sky Blade, switching out the Earth Blade to be his backup, and grabs for the saddle.

"Artie!" Al shouts as soon as he finds the wolf.

Arthur, after getting used to all the towns people staring, took to wandering off on his own. Usually he'd just be outside somewhere lying in a snow bank, but this time Al found him once again being used as a climbing frame by the towns kids.

As soon as he saw the saddle, the wolf huffed, narrowing his eyes.

' _Oh_ _, not again._ '

"Come on, it wasn't _so_ bad."

Knowing that there's no way around it, Arthur just huffs, gently shaking himself free of the children as Alfred holds the saddle out to him, giving in to his fate.

Though, he begins to wish they had done this inside, as not only the children, but everyone around stares as he let's Al saddle him, still hating every second of it.

"Wow..." A small boy gasps in awe as he watches the knight securing the belt around the wolf's underside.

"Alright, I think we're good." He nods at his work, "Mind letting me up?"

Arthur glares, but lowers himself anyway, immediately standing a bit quickly as soon as Alfred is on.

"Ah! Hey!" The knight complains as he's jostled.

' _I_ _can't_ _believe I let you put this ridiculous thing on me._ Again.'

"Hey, it works." He tells him, getting situated better.

Arthur doesn't say anything back to that, they both know it's true.

With a short wave to the gathered crowd, Arthur charges off, and soon they're back out in the open snowy expanse once more.

* * *

For the next two weeks or so, the pair travel south, heading ever closer to Alfred's home and birthplace, the Capital. As the days pass, and they journey further, the snow lessens and gives way to grassy plains and old forests, the temperature gradually warming. Towns grow in size, and more and more people populate the area. They pass through a few, bartering any skins of animals Alfred had managed to save from Arthur after a kill on the road.

It certainly was an odd experience for the wolf, who has only ever known deep snow and jagged rocks all his life. As they had slowly walked through patches of melting snow, soft mud and tufts of grass began to replace all that the wolf knew.

' _What_ _... is_ this?' Arthur asks as he stops, eyeing the small patch of green grass warily.

"It's just grass. Have you seriously never seen _grass_ before?" Al asks, smiling bemusedly as he leans over the wolf's back to look at the grass he's cautiously pawing at.

' _I've_ _seen_ _plenty of plants that grow through the snow in the lower plains, but none like this._ '

"Huh, I guess that makes sense."

Now that he thinks about it, he really never saw much grass in the Ivory Expanse, even during what counts as summer there.

"Well, best get used to it." He shrugs, sitting back, "We'll be seeing a _lot_ more of it from now on."

' _Is_ _it_ _safe?_ ' Arthur wonders, and Al can't help feeling amused at the wolf's worry.

"Yeah, it's safe. I mean don't eat it if your not a herbivore, but it's fine to walk on."

Still somewhat wary, but trusting Alfred's knowledge, they continued on.

Another thing Alfred learns, is that Arthur does _not_ like getting dirty. The wolf complaining loudly and for long periods of time whenever they run into a particularly muddy area. From what he can tell from the wolf's angry tirades, the hate comes from a mixture of not liking the cold, wet feeling that sinks through his fur to his skin, actually making him _feel_ cold, and the idea of being dirty in general. But mostly it comes from worry at how it covers his natural white camouflage.

But Al reassures him, in the snow his white fur blends in, but once they get into the forests and plains, it'll make him stick out more, so the mud would actually _help_ him blend in more with the new environment. This seems to work, if only a little. But it doesn't stop the complaining.

* * *

A few days later, they reach a forest that Alfred knows very well.

"Sweet, we're in the outer forest." Al grins happily as he jumps down off the wolf.

Arthur, now half covered with mud sprayed up his sides, looks to the knight questioningly.

"You can't see it for all the trees, but just past here is the northern gate to the capital." He's practically exuding happiness at the thought of being so close to home, "Come on, let's hurry!"

He excitedly jogs through the woods to the well worn path that leads to the city, Arthur walking slightly faster than normal to keep up. His excitement is cut short when not ten minutes later, Arthur suddenly stops, ears flicking forward.

' _Wait_ _._ ' He warns, and Al knows that tone of voice.

"What is it?" He whispers lowly, reaching for his sword.

Sure, these Woods may not be as dangerous as the frozen wastelands of the north, but that doesn't mean they can completely let down their guard, all manner of creatures could jump out at them at any moment.

Out the side of his eye, Alfred watches the wolf as his ears flick about, eyes narrowing as he picks out on sounds beyond the knights range of hearing.

' _Something's_ _coming. Sounds like hooves, a lot of them._ ' He growls lowly.

Quickly positioning himself in a defensive stance beside Arthur, Al strains his ears to pick out on the approaching sounds. Going by the direction of Arthur's eyes and ears, whatever it is, it's coming right at them down the path. But they're down wind of it, so Arthur can't pick up any smells, Al knows, or the wolf would already have told him what it is.

He braces himself as he can here the clopping of hooves, Arthur dropping down defensively as well, ears back and teeth bared in threat, ready to attack. But as the sound grows louder, Al can hear the huff and rattle of a group of horses and riders.

He straightens, lowering his sword and signalling to Arthur to stand down.

And then he sees them, the Kingdoms Patrol.

A group of seven riders trot to a halt in front of the pair, all fully armoured, wearing the royal crest upon their saddles. And at the front of the group, is a face for sore eyes.

"Gil!" Alfred cries, face splitting in a massive grin as he hurriedly sheaths his sword, laughing in joy at the coincidence, "Man is it good to see you!"

Gilbert however, doesn't smile or grin, or even smirk down at him. He only gives the blonde a hard look as he orders, "Seize them."

"Wha?" Al gapes in shock as the other six riders move to surround them, "Gil, it's me!" He cries, not understanding why his old friend is arresting him.

Beside him, Arthur growls as they are surrounded, snapping at a horse that gets too close for his liking.

"Art don't-" He tries to calm the other, reaching to stop him from lashing out.

But his hands are suddenly pulled together and up over his head, golden chains of magic forming around his wrists and leading back to one of the riders behind him.

Seeing Alfred becoming trapped, Arthur lashes out, diving for the rider holding the young knight. But these are Royal guards, and before Arthur can even reach the rider, more gold chains form and wrap around the wolf's legs, pulling them out from under him and causing Arthur to fall to his side. Snarling madly, he attempts to stand but the riders move back, pulling on the chains and forcing the wolf's legs apart, preventing him from being able to stand.

' _FUCKING_ _! LET ME GO! I'LL KILL YOU!_ ' Arthur screams, making Al wince as he rages, snarling and fighting back like the wild beast he really is.

But even his ability to snap and bite is taken away, as Al is forced to watch one of the riders weave a golden muzzle onto Arthur's mouth, only making the wolf angrier. Green eyes flashing as he struggles, but no ice of any kind forms. Instead, the chains glow and a current runs through them, shocking the wolf.

"Artie! Stop, stop it! Don't hurt him!" Al shouts desperately at both wolf and riders, looking to the only one not involved for help, "Gil?! Stop it! Why are you doing this?!"

Still without an ounce of emotion on his face, Gilbert stares hard down at the knight.

"Alfred Feral Jones, you are in direct violation of the King's ruling, and are here by under arrest for treason."

"What? No, Gil! I can explain!" He shouts.

But it does nothing to help as Gilbert nods to the riders and Alfred feels the painful current run through the chains into him.

"Aaah!" He screams as his whole body cries out in pain, beside him, they do the same to Arthur, ten fold.

He drops to the ground as the pain stops, blearily looking back up at Gilbert.

The man frowns down at him, "You should never have come back here." Is the last thing he hears before blackness takes over him...

* * *

"Hmm, that _is_ interesting.."

"Isn't it?" Sadık smirks lazily as he leans on the warm stone walls.

Across from him, the brunette sits back, contemplating all that the masked man has just told her.

"But why should I believe you?" She asks, expression guarded.

"Come now," He shrugs, pushing himself off the wall, "we're friends."

"That means nothing when it comes to you." She counters back immediately.

"Well alright," he confesses, taking a step towards the table she sits behind, "really, it's just good business having you in the know."

"And that means even _less_ _._ " She accuses, frowning, "Don't try playing any of your games with me Sadık, I know you too well for that."

"Of course you do." He raises his hands in a shrug as he continues his lazy approach, "But what can I say? Your Devil charms have ensnared me."

She scoffs as she watches him lean across the table.

"But really, take it or leave it, it doesn't matter to me." He grins at the woman's judging stare, "I just wanted to give you a heads up, so you'd be on the winning side."

"And which side is that?"

"Why yours Devil girl," He smirks, reaching a hand out to push her hair back, but is stopped as she grabs his wrist in a crushing hold.

"Don't _lie_ to me." She snarls, "Who are you _really_ working for."

It's a statement, not a question. They are both aware that each other knows of the informants lack of loyalty.

Sadık's smirk only grows, even as he feels the bones in his wrist snapping, he increases his skin temperature to blistering levels. The sound of bones breaking and the smell of skin burning does nothing to deter their stand off.

Still acting like nothing's wrong, he leans forward to whisper in the woman's ear.

"Believe what you want, but the time of the Western sunrise approaches."

The sound of footsteps nearing breaks their standoff, the woman releasing him and he casually steps back. He says nothing as he warps away to the sound of knocking.

"Mistress?" A voice asks form behind the closed stone doors.

"Yes?"

The door opens as she wiggles her hand, letting the charred flesh crumble and flake down to the table.

"You called for me?" A tanned young man asks sunnily, not seeming bothered by the sight in the least.

She frowns down at her healing hand for a moment, thinking, before snapping her head up to the other.

"Assemble your best men, I have a job for you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear, maybe Alfred should have thought things through a bit more. Now Gilbert, of all people, has gone and arrested him and poor Arthur.
> 
> And what might be going on elsewhere? You'll just have to wait and see.
> 
> We're also introducing 2 more characters in this last scene, can you guess who they are?
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	16. It falls to us

Three days ago...

A guard sighs, bored, shifting about in his armour as he stands at his post, a seemingly random corridor, in the endless maze of the castle in the heart of the Capital. He's been here for hours and nothing interesting ever happens.

Or so it would seem, until he hears the hard smack of boots on the stone floor approaching. His eyes widen as he sees who it is that is stomping their way through, quickly standing to attention and desperately trying to not make it look like he was slacking.

But really, he needn't have bothered. He could probably have been asleep against the wall and still gone unnoticed by Commander Beilschmidt.

Gilbert glared hard as he stormed through the corridors, knowing the maze off by heart, he let's his feet carry him to the council chamber while he silently rages. He blinks when he finds himself at the doors all too soon for his liking.

Forcing a calming breath, he pushes his anger down, hiding it behind a cocky smirk, then hiding even that behind a straight face, before pushing the doors open and walking in.

"Ah, Beilschmidt, your late." The king says, not even looking up from the papers he's holding as the doors swing shut.

Even though he's not looking, some of the other council members are, so, he bows his head to the royal.

"Forgive me, your majesty, I was distracted whipping some of the newbies into shape."

At that, the King looks up and smiles at him.

"Not _too_ hard I hope. We do need them to be at least _somewhat_ functional."

"Of course." He agrees, taking his seat, two to the right of the man.

"Now that everyone is here, let's get down to business."

Council is a boring affair by any standard, but it is not the bureaucracy of it all that Gilbert hates. No, council is one of the few times he can actually be of some use to the people.

What he _truly_ _hates_ , with a burning _fire_ in the depths of his very soul, is the man seated just two places to his left, wearing a crown of _lies_ _._

As he sits listening to the bastard talk nonsense about taxes and income, Gilbert's hand moves to rest on the hilt of his sword sheathed at his side. To anyone looking, the move may even seem protective, but it's not.

It's tempting, to think he could just pull it free and cut down the tyrant _so_ easily...

But he knows that wouldn't work, not against _him_ _._

He sighs, bored as he moves his hands to flip through the small pile of papers on the table in front of him. He's mostly here to talk defence and report back on any disturbances outside the city walls that might be of interest, not that he ever does.

"...we've heard some disturbing reports from the outlying towns to the north."

That catches his attention and Gil focuses back in on the current conversation.

"What sort of reports?" The King demands.

"Well," The young council man shifts in his seat, squirming under the Kings intense stare, "Apparently, there have been sightings of a crestless knight making his way south and he, according to the people who saw him, had some sort of, well, _beast_ with him."

"He WHAT?!" The king roars, standing from his seat.

"This is only rumours of course." Another member, an old gray haired man, tries to placate the royal.

Furiously, the King turns to Gil.

"Beilschmidt! Why have I not heard anything about this from _you_ _?!_ "

"Because _I_ have heard of no such tale." He reassures, turning to glare at the younger man who first brought this up, "If such a thing _was_ true, _I_ would have heard about it _long_ before now."

"Beilschmidt is right my liege, these are simply unfounded rumours and hear say." The only woman of the council agrees, managing to put the King at ease, if only slightly.

Still, the royal frowns as he sits, turning to Gilbert.

"I do not like it. Such rumours, even false, should not exist." He grumbles, "Beilschmidt, I want you to ride out and put such nonsense to bed. _Permanently_ _._ Prove for _certain_ that this is a false tale." The commander nods, "And," The King continues dangerously, "should you find such a knight, you are to kill him on sight. Do I make myself clear?"

Standing, Gilbert bows to the man.

"I shall make preparations at once to ride out first thing in the morning."

"Good. Council is dismissed." The King concludes.

* * *

Matthew sighs tiredly as he roams the underground archives of the Capital. Books, texts and manuscripts of all kinds are housed down here, and for the last year and a half, it has been his job to manage it all. As Head Book Keeper of the kingdom, he thought he'd have it all worked out by now.

But instead, he _still_ hasn't mapped out all of the place. There _are_ records and maps that _do_ exist for down here, but all, much to his dismay, are out of date or just plain wrong. How he'll ever find anything of use down here is beyond him.

Well, not quite. He _has_ found some _very_ useful things, but that was back when he was just an apprentice and he could wander about freely without having the record _everything_ he sees.

Somewhere behind him and several levels above, the only door in bursts open.

He snaps his head up, quickly hiding anything that might be incriminating, but when the sound of footsteps start hurriedly making their way down to him, he sighs in relief. Their's only one person in the whole Capital that would willingly come down on their own without first shouting for him to come guide them.

It doesn't take long for the flickering orange glow of a torch, and a fainter solid glow of red, to shine through the maze as the other nears.

"Gil, what's up?" He asks, smiling at his friend.

But the smile quickly fades when he sees how worked up the other is.

"What is it, what's happened?" He asks more urgently as he looks past him, just in case anyone has followed him down.

"We have a problem." The commander sounds gravely as his eyes stop glowing and he hooks the torch into a hold on the end of one of the many nearby bookshelves.

"What?"

"Alfred."

"A-Al?" Matt stutters, surprise to hear his brothers name.

"He's on his way here, _right_ _now._ "

"But... that's impossible. I thought-"

"Yeah, so did I."

"Gil, you've _never_ been wrong before."

"I _know_ _._ " He grumbles, glaring into the darkness.

"Are you sure?" Matthew asks, somehow sounding a strange mix of hopeful, desperate and worried.

Gilbert sighs heavily, "I don't know."

"Then?"

"There was a report in council, of a crestless knight and a _beast_ of some kind heading straight for the capital from the north. Who else _could_ it be?"

The blonde stares. This isn't right, it's too soon. Al...

This isn't meant to happen...

"But..."

"I _know_ Matt!" The albino cries, waving his arms out.

A silence falls over the pair, only disrupted by the crackling of the torch fire burning.

"Okay, Okay, let's think about this." Matthew eventually says, trying to focus on what to do, "If it _is_ Al —which at this point, we still don't know for one hundred _percent_ that it is— then we _need_ to make sure the king doesn't find out about him."

"It's too late for that, the Bastard has already ordered me to kill the knight should I find one, Alfred or not. I'm riding out first thing to intercept him, I'll try to go alone, but I can already tell I'll be made to take a patrol with me."

Matthew frowns, thinking this information over, "Then, Al's going to end up here one way or another..." He murmurs.

While he thinks, Gilbert takes to pacing, not liking this one bit.

Suddenly the blonde looks to the knight, eye's full of determination, the makings of a plan clear to see.

"Then this is what we'll do."

* * *

Present day...

Gilbert glares hard forward as he rides out front of the patrol, the sound for the horses hooves and the clang of armour do nothing to cover the much more noticeable noise of the two bodies being dragged along behind them.

Every so often, he flashes his gaze to the other riders, silencing them all before any of them can even _think_ about speaking up. They're curious and worried. Why are they not killing the knight and beast? They have orders from the _King_ to kill, yet their commander has order capture, not death.

Looking over his shoulder, he sees Alfred, still unconscious, being dragged on his back by the chains around his wrists and the wolf thing on it's right side by the four around it's legs.

He forces himself to look away or he might just end up doing something stupid.

He has to remember the plan...

He just hopes they can pull this off...

* * *

Alfred groans as he wakes up, his whole body is absolutely _aching_. He wonders if he should be concerned about the amount of passing out he's been doing lately. But that thought doesn't last long as, when he tries to move a hand to rub at his face, he finds he can't.

Blinking blearily, he realises he's in near complete darkness, only a distant fire glowing somewhere he can't see providing him with the poor lighting.

And his wrists are held together by manacles chaining him to a stone wall...

He's in a dungeon, just great...

As his eyes adjust, he looks around, and recognises the place.

He's in not just _any_ dungeon, but the Capitals...

He's home, though, not how he planned.

But even this glorious, while slightly worrisome revelation is quickly forgotten as he realises he's alone. The cell he's in is large, it could easily hold both him and Arthur, but the wolf is nowhere to be seen.

"Arthur?" He calls out to the corridor past his cells bars.

"Artie?" Hearing no responds, he twist from his awkward position sprawled out on the floor —no wonder he hurts all over— chains rattling loudly with the movement, and stands, hurrying over to the bars to look out.

He doesn't get all the way there though, as the chains limit how far he can go, clinking as they are pulled taunt.

"Argh, stupid," he grumbles, tugging his wrists as he twists around to look out, "Artie!"

His voice echoes off the cool stone walls, but he receives no response.

He's worried, where could he be?

Dully, he realises he's never woke up by himself since meeting Arthur. For about a month now he's always had the wolf next to him, always...

He's never been this far away before, far away enough that he can't hear him.

That he doesn't know where he is...

" _Artieeeeee_ _!_ "

...nothing...

He tugs harder on the chains, making them rattle even louder as he struggles hopelessly to get free, feeling himself start to panic.

Where is he? What have they done with him? What, what if they...

No!

They wouldn't, they...wouldn't...

He shakes his head wildly, trying to rid himself of the thought, but finds it stuck there.

" _ARTIIIIEEEEEE_ _!_ "

* * *

_Arthur_ _ran through the freshly fallen snow just outside the den. It's summer now, and he's finally old enough to leave the den by himself. The cool fresh air and lack of parental guidance feels so freeing, he can't help but happily run around._

_But_ _his fun doesn't last long, as soon the shadow of his elder brother falls over him._

_'_ _Having_ _fun in the snow?' He goads the pup._

_Crouching_ _low, Arthur stares up at the elder, before quickly rolling onto his back submissively when seeing the others disapproving stare._

_Alistair_ _shakes his head at him, then smiles cheekily._

_'_ _Still_ _such a pup. Come on, I thought you were supposed to be old enough to go hunting with the pack now?'_

_'I_ _am_ _!' He barks defensively._

_Just_ _because he wanted to have a bit of fun before they headed out, his brother thinks he can look down on him._

_'_ _Sure_ _you are.' The elder laughs, 'Then get moving.'_

_Without_ _waiting for him, Alistair charges off after the rest of the pack, leaving Arthur to catch up._

* * *

_Since_ _it's summer, the pack head to the foothills for the hunt. Prey, as his family have been busy teaching him, enter the outer limit of their territory at this time of year. So, they will hunt as much as they can before it all moves off. What they don't eat, they'll store throughout their territory for next winter._

_But_ _even though Arthur's been allowed to tag along, he's still too young to actually take part. So when he catches up, Alistair is waiting for him. He orders him to hide in a snowdrift and watch, while the elder moves off to take up his position for the ambush._

_Arthur_ _lies low as he eagerly watches his pack work together. Eyes twinkling with wonder as he stares at their combined casting, trapping hundreds of smaller creatures that flock into their path. He doesn't know the names for all of them yet, but he_ does _know_ _that they all taste good._

_But_ _while the pack is distracted with the hunt, from his vantage point, he sees something moving through the snow. It looks small from how far away he is and compared to his auntie that it's moving towards, so he doesn't think it's dangerous._

_That_ _was the first time he saw a human, and the first mistake he ever made._

_He_ _was too late in his warning howl, too late to stop what he couldn't have known, but blames himself for._

_The_ _human attacked with magic he didn't know others could have, and the howl of pain his aunt gave out drew the packs attention. But he didn't see much of what happened next, as suddenly Alistair was carrying him away by the scruff of his neck._

_His_ _auntie never made it home._

* * *

Arthur awoke to his own whines and quickly silenced himself.

Remaining still, he listened to his surroundings and quietly sniffed the air. When he heard nothing and only smelt dampness, he cracked an eye open to carefully look about, but was met with near darkness. His excellent night vision the only thing allowing him to pick up on the faintest of natural light leaking in from somewhere outside.

He tries to move, to get up and find out where he is, but can't. His legs are bound together and when he tries to lift his head to look, he realises than something is on it, clamping his mouth shut. Panicked, he scrabbles about uselessly, tugging and pulling at everything holding him down, but to no avail.

His heart races as images bleed into his vision.

_Trapped_ _..._

_He_ _can't move..._

_Blood_ _..._

_So_ _... much... blood..._

_Is_ _it his?_

_He_ _doesn't_ _know._

_Everything_ hurts _..._

_That_ _sound..._

_Not_ _again..._

_They_ _have_ _to move..._

_They_ _..._

_'_ _Peter_ _?'_

_He_ _tries to look, but can't..._

_No_ _..._

_The_ _fur next to him..._

_Soaked_ _red..._

_That's_ _..._

_'_ _Pete_ _?'_

* * *

He shakes his head, closing his eyes to the nightmare of his past.

He struggles harder, tries to use his magic, but the binds holding him shocking with double the force of any he tries to use.

In pain, barely able to move or see, he stills, panting.

     ...He's trapped...

                                        ......He's alone......

                                                                                    .........He's scared.........

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look! Gil and Mattie get to have the spotlight for a bit.
> 
> So yeah, stuff is going down here. We're about to enter into the second major arc of this story, so stick around for that.
> 
> If anyone can figure out where I'm going with this you get a cookie.
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	17. Breaking out

In the near darkness of his cell, Alfred sits heavily down on the smattering of straw and a _very_ worn piece of jute matting that makes up his sorry excuse for a bed in here, forcing himself to calm down.

He needs to focus, and figure out a plan.

As he breathes deeply, his panic subsiding, he realises something. While _he_ _was_ panicking, part of the fear he feels isn't his. He blinks, thinking himself a complete idiot for not realising sooner. It's faint, a creeping feeling at the back of his mind, sitting in the pit of his stomach, but it's definitely there.

He would smile in relief at that, since that means Arthur is still alive somewhere, which is good, but it also mean that the wolf is scared, which is not.

He's not sure if it'll help, but he concentrates on calming himself completely, and hopes that Arthur will feel it and be calmed too.

But that would only be a temporary fix, what he really needs to do is figure out a way out.

Frowning, he stares at the bars across from him.

"Hmm, Gil through me in here, but why?" He voices his thoughts into the silence.

"He said it was for treason but..."

That can't be right. Alfred has known the albino Commander for years, and this just isn't like him. Even though he's his superior —or rather, was— the man became a good friend of his. There have been _plenty_ of times during his training when he got tangled up in stuff, and Gilbert had _always_ listened to his side before making any judgements.

To throw him in jail, without first _at_ _least_ hearing him out...

Not to mention, the last thing Gil said to him has been bugging him since he woke up.

_"_ _You_ _should_ _never have come back here."_

Two years ago, Gilbert told him he did everything he could to convince the King to lessen his punishment, that he tried desperately to convince him not to exile Al, but he wouldn't be persuaded. When he left, Gilbert helped him get everything he needed before he went, no matter what. He promised him he'd keep an eye on Mattie for him, and that he'd look forward to the day they would meet again. So he should have been _happy_ to see him.

"Something isn't right here..."

Add to all that, he's been awake for sometime now, so someone should have came for him by now to drag him before the King. It's not like they wouldn't know, anyone within a five mile radius probably heard him shouting. So, where are the guards? _Someone_ should of been here by now, if only to tell him to shut up.

He shifts about, uncomfortable and a little cold, the chain rattling with the slightest movement. He's been stripped of his armour and weapons —now barefoot in only his undershirt and trousers— and the chill of the dungeons is starting to get to him. If he still had his stuff, he might have been able to wrangle something out that he could use to pick the lock.

He sighs, frowning down at the manacles. His wrists are seriously starting to hurt being bound for so long.

"Wait..." Looking closer, he notices something.

The manacles, while heavy and annoying, are just plain old iron. He twists and turns them around to look at every angle, but nothing. There's no runes on them, not even a basic inscription. And, though his skills are still pretty limited, he can't sense any magic from enchantments on them.

"Which means..." He starts to grin.

They're not magic resistant restraints. Gilbert doesn't know about his magic, he didn't put him in the cells for mages, just the regular ones.

He flexes his hands as he tries to get more comfortable so he can focus.

He can do this.

He may not be the best at it, nowhere near as good as Arthur, but this much he's sure he can pull off.

Holding out his wrists, he stretches his hands out as he focuses on the cuffs.

"Just focus on what I want the magic to do." He reminds himself.

Concentrating, he imagines the manacles freezing, becoming brittle by the cold and shattering.

Over the past few weeks, he's gotten better at his control, but his precision and skill still needs work.

Slowly, the ice forms, creeping over the binds and up part of the chain, but it also spreads over his wrists and up his forearms. It's a good thing that mages aren't effected by their own magic, or he'd have a serious case of frostbite by now.

Despite his lack of skill, he still manages to freeze the cuffs, the dark metal shining in it's coating of ice, but they don't shatter.

Not one to let a little set back stop him, Al quickly stands. Looking around, he grins as he spies the hook-points where the chain is attached to the wall. It's a little above his head, but he can still reach, so, he lifts his wrists, and repeatedly smashes the bonds against the hook. Made brittle like he planned, it doesn't take long for the manacles to shatter, finally freeing his hands.

He sighs happily as he pulls his hands free from the broken bonds, rubbing his wrists.

"One down, one to go."

Now freed of the chains, he quickly makes his way to the bars, placing his hands over the lock and freezing it, along with most of the bars it's attached to.

A few good kicks, and he's free.

But using so much of his magic at once is draining, still, he can't stop now. So he shoves the creaking door open, quickly diving out for the nearest cover to hide.

"This is _definitely_ weird..."

Someone _should_ have heard all that, he was hardly quiet about it. So where are they?

Deciding to take his chances, he slowly creeps his way down the corridors.

As he goes, he can't help but smile a little nostalgically. Back when he was only ten and just starting out his training, he had to go through 'initiation'. Really, it was just the older knights way of torturing the newbies. His 'initiation' was to spend a night down in the dungeons, with no torch and no map to find his way. Since he had a day to prepare, Mattie made him memorise the layout.

It's a good thing he never forgot it.

In the dark, only guided by the handful of torches along the walls at odd intervals, it doesn't take him long to find the way out.

He creeps up the stairs, knowing that guards will be posted at the top, just before the door. And sure enough, he finds the group of four men, only...

"Huh."

He easily steps around the men, all fast asleep over the small wooden table. That would explain why no one came down to see what all the noise was about, they're out cold.

Shrugging at his good luck, he silently slips out into the dark corridor beyond, well, as silently as he can with a heavy wooden door that creaks and squeaks.

Now out the dungeons and into one of the corridors of the castle, he keeps to the shadows as he rushes through them. For once he's thankful for his lack of armour as his bare feet make little sound as he runs.

First, he needs to get a sword, then, find Arthur and bust him out. Only once he knows the wolf is safe, _then_ _,_ he'll try to explain himself to the King. It's funny, time was, he would put nothing before his servitude to the King, even his own life. Now, Arthur firmly holds that spot, even before his King, which Alfred never thought anything would, but here he is. He's not sure _when_ exactly Arthur became the top of his priorities, but now he can't imagine it any other way.

Sneaking his way through, Al slips into the armoury and, much to his relief, finds his Sky Blade amongst the racks. Sword now in hand, and quickly grabbing a pair of boots —'cause _damnit_ his feet are cold!— he slips back out and heads for the only place he can think they would keep Arthur.

But as he runs about, he finds it odd how empty the castle is. In all his sneaking, he hasn't seen one other person. Sure, it must be the middle of the night given how dark it is, but there should still be _some_ people, even just the servants, _they_ never seem to sleep.

He considers that maybe he's just lucky, that maybe he's just in a quiet part, but the answer soon becomes apparent as he nears one of the courtyards.

The sounds of laughter, music and singing start drifting through the hall as he gets closer, and, along with the sounds, he starts to see people. The oddly missing servants are all hurriedly dashing about as every one of them has their arms full of food, drinks or some form of decoration. A young girl carrying a plater of hors d'oeuvre rushes right past him and out the open door to the courtyard, not even sparing him a passing glance.

He's about to just head on out and see what all the commotion is, when a middle aged woman grabs him by the sleeve.

"And just where do you think _your_ going?" She demands, balancing a small crate of materials on her hip as she looks disapprovingly at him.

Going by her two tiered dress and age, she's one of the head maids, and going by how flustered she is and how messy her greying bun of hair is, she's obviously in a hurry.

"Uh..." Is about all he get's out, worried that he's been caught.

"Oh you actors are always so flaky. Hurry up!" She snaps, pushing the crate into his arms and waving her hands at him to shoo, "They'll be starting soon, so get going! And take that with you, the stage hands have been harassing my girls for more materials for props, so tell them that's all they're getting!"

"Uh..."

When he doesn't move she huffs, grabbing him by the arm and tugging him down the hall.

"For Gods sake, do I have to do _everything_ around here?" She bemoans.

Not wanting to cause a scene, Al let's her pull him along, soon arriving in an area of the castle he's rarely been to.

The woman shoves a set of doors open rather roughly, and pushes him inside, turning and stomping away.

Inside the room, are a half dozen men and women buzzing about, dressed in costumes or the dark colours of the stage hands. One of them looks up at his entrance and sighs in relief.

"Finally." He sighs, grabbing the box out of Al's hands and disappearing with it through one of the three doors leading off of the room he's in.

But Al doesn't get more than a moment to think on his next move, as another stage hand grabs him out of nowhere and pulls him through a door, into a changing room.

"Found him." She says sounding rather annoyed before disappearing as another young woman takes over, pulling him to a rack of clothes and holding costume pieces up to him.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

She says nothing, choosing to only glare at him as she slaps a hat on his head while deciding which of two belts looks best.

"Ah, so your the new understudy?" A young man dressed up to look like a grey old wise man asks as he moves past, looking through a selection of robes.

"Understudy?"

"Yeah, James is sick, which sucks, and Ross is out of town, so, we needed a new guy. That _is_ you isn't it?" He asks, pulling out a dark burgundy robe and turning to look Al over.

"Um," Now what should he do? He can't say no, or they might get suspicious. So he'll just have to play along for now, "Yeah, but uh..." He stalls, trying to think of an excuse.

Luckily, the other provides one for him.

The man sighs, rolling his eyes as he points to the belt in the girl's left hand.

"Let me guess, Norma just grabbed the first actor she found without checking to see if your any good." He sighs again while the girl fastens the belt around his waist, "Please tell me your at least _somewhat_ decent?"

"Uh, yeah, I can act." He's doing it right now, not that the other two know.

"Good, so you've memorised your lines then?"

"Um."

"Urgh, here." The man groans, shoving a handful of papers at him, "You better learn them fast, we're on in ten."

With that, he stomps off, and the girl tugs him down into a stool on front of a mirror and begins moving about him, pulling the hat off to mess with his hair.

While she fiddles with his look, he flips through the script in his hands, quickly skimming it.

"Oh." He blinks down at the pages.

Now it all makes sense.

The drunk guards, the empty halls, the noise from the courtyard and all the running around the servants have been doing.

And why he's been mistaken for an actor.

It's the mid winter festival for the solstice.

"Is it really that time of year again?" He asks more to himself than anything, not expecting an answer.

"Yeah, funny how that works huh? It's _almost_ like it happens _every_ year, who'd imagined that?" The girl sarcastically drawls as she starts, much to Al's horror, covering his face in makeup.

"Hold still." She snaps when he tries to move away.

Sighing, he gives in, not wanting to blow his cover.

At least he knows what his role is now. It's not hard to work out from his dress, there's only one character in the Winters Hero play that looks like him.

The lead, the Hero.

Alfred can't help but grin, he doesn't even need the script, he's seen this play so many times he knows it off by _heart_ _!_

So when it's time for him to go out, he strides out confidently, ready to preform.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter was a little hard to do, I accidentally wrote myself into a corner not once, but twice while writing this. But fear not, for I figured it out and the plot shall progress! Next chapter is gonna be fun, Alfred the Hero of the play, what could possibly go wrong? Mwhahaha...
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	18. Our move

22 hours ago...

Matthew had to hurry. He quickens his pace, breaking into a fast power walk. His soft boots muffling the sound of his steps, and his dark clothes —out of his work robes for the night— aid to hide his form as he hurries down through the moonlit streets.

If his calculations are correct, Gilbert and the patrol will be arriving with the knight any moment now. But he has to be careful and make sure he isn't seen. Something that is a lot easier for him than most, as he has access to both Gil's knowledge and mapped out patrols of the guards through the lower town.

It doesn't take him long to get there, but just as he's about to reach the Northern Gate, he's stopped in his tracks.

"Halt!"

The call comes from behind him and he stops, glancing round to see a guard that should have moved on by now, coming out of one of the buildings he just passed.

"State your business here." He demands, holding up a torch to light the darkened street.

And Matt sighs, he doesn't have time for this.

Turning, he smiles gently as he lowers his hood, revealing himself to the guard.

"Oh, Master Williams." The guard blinks upon recognising him, "What are you doing down here so late at night."

Matt keeps his smile gentle, even as he notices the man let down his guard.

Just what he needs.

"Forgive me. I was so caught up in discussions with a fellow scholar in town, I simply didn't realise the time." He lies through his teeth.

"Is that so?" The man asks, sounding surprised.

"Yes," he nods, "I was just on my way home now."

"But, you where heading for the North gate."

"Oh, was I?" Matthew blinks, acting like this information was a complete surprise, "I must have gotten turned around. All these streets look the same in the dark."

"Ah, then allow me to escort you back. These streets can be dangerous at night." The man smiles, stepping closer, completely buying Matt's lie.

"No need, I can find my own way back."

"I insist." The man presses, taking another step closer to be right beside Matt.

"You do? Oh, well, that would be most kind of you." Smile still firmly in place, Matthew reaches a hand out to the guards arm in a seemingly friendly manner.

As he gently wraps his fingers around the man's arm, he drops his smile, looking the guard dead in the eye.

" _But_ _really, that won't be necessary._ "

The guard stares back blankly, entranced by the Book Keepers voice.

Matthew's voice has always been soft, but now, with his magic flowing through it, it becomes like silk to the ears, warping the mind with his honey sweet words.

To anyone looking, it might seem like an innocent conversation, perhaps even as though he was informing the guard of sensitive information. Not suspicious looking at all. But if they were to get close enough, they would see the calculating look in the blondes violet eyes.

" _Now_ _, Why don't you get back to where you_ should _be_ _stationed. Make sure no one comes near the Northern Gate for a while. Oh,_ " he adds, not breaking his gaze with the man, " _And_ _forget this happened._ "

Finally done with his command, Matthew releases the man, turning away. He pulls up his hood and disappears back into the darkness as the guard stares blankly after him. Once he's out of sight, the man blinks once, then turns and walks away, returning to his duties, having completed forgotten about ever seeing the Book Keeper.

* * *

Gilbert glares up at the North gate, waiting for it to be opened. Eventually it does, but rather than be met with the guards, his group are met with a lone hooded figure, and the Commander smiles.

"What is this?!" One of the more uppity knights beside him demands.

Without saying a word, Gil pulls his sword free and slams it into the knights head, knocking him out and causing him to fall off his horse, the magic chain he controlled dissipating.

"Sir?!" Another asks in shock, but get's no further.

The patrol has no time to react as to their horror, their Commander turns on them, knocking them out one by one. Normally, this would be a _somewhat_ difficult task, but as they were all tried and still preoccupied with maintaining their magic binds, it was easy for Gil to take them all down.

"Did you really have to do that?" Matt sighs as he walks over, lowering his hood.

"What?" He whines, jumping down from his horse, "Have to make this look real don't I?"

"Urgh, you _know_ it's harder to manipulate them when their unconscious like this."

"Yeah, But your magic isn't as sturdy doing it on mass, and there's no way they'd have all sat still once they realised what was up."

"Mmh, it would have been quicker." The blonde grumbles as he comes over to crouch by the unconscious body of the first knight Gilbert attacked.

"Speed's good, but we need reliability right now." Gil reminds the other as he tends to the horses.

Matthew doesn't say anything back to that, getting to work instead. He closes his eyes as he leans in close, whispering in the ear of the knight.

While Matt does his thing, Gil finally gives in to himself and goes to check on Alfred.

The young knight is still unconscious, covered in dirt, but other wise unharmed, and Gilbert smiles down at him.

"It's good to see you again kid. Sorry about all this."

The albino Commander continues to be impressed by the speed at which Matt works, as it takes him no time at all to alter the memories of his seven patrol members.

"Gil?" He asks, coming up behind the other.

Matthew stands, staring, at the form of the mud covered giant wolf lying not too far behind the group. From his place, he can only see the lower half of the other knight, Gilbert blocking the rest from view.

Standing, the red eyed man turns to the blonde.

"It's him."

Not waiting a second longer, Matt rushes forward, dropping down onto his knees beside his brother.

"Al..." He sighs the name in a mix of relief and worry.

"Happy family reunion." Gilbert drawls humourlessly, "But the rest'll have to wait, we've got work to do."

Matthew bows his head, his hair hiding his face. Right now, he want's nothing more than to pick up his brother and run away with him. He doesn't know where they'd go, but he'd figure something out.

He could...

He could make Gilbert forget too, and they'd just... disappear...

But that would be running away, and if there is one thing he learned from Al, it's not to run away from his problems.

Standing back up, he nods and raises his head.

" _Awaken_ _._ " He commands, voice ringing with power, and the previously unconscious knights all climb to their feet.

Entranced, they get to work. Taking the route both Matt and Gil had planned out and prepared, they effortlessly avoid all the guards.

Through Gilbert's authority and Matthew's planning and manipulation magic, not a single soul in the Capital saw either Alfred or Arthur being dragged to the dungeons.

* * *

3 hours ago...

Matthew was once again sneaking through the castle at night, this time, down to the dungeons. As much as he can manipulate the memories and actions of others with his magic, doing so is both difficult and draining. Mental manipulation magic is complex, and the spells require a lot of energy to preform, energy which he's never had a lot of to begin with. So he can't get cocky, he has to carefully plan out every time he uses it.

Which is why he spends so much time skulking about in the shadows rather than just waltzing his way around wherever he pleases, his magic is more of an insurance policy than a free pass. Which sucks, 'cause it would be _so_ much easier if it were.

Once at the door to the dungeons he breathes a sigh of relief. From here it's easy. He slips in, greets the guards warmly and offers them drinks for the night.

"To tide you all over until the morning. It's such a shame you'll miss the festival. I hear it's going to be quite the spectacle this year." He acts sincere, pouring each of them the wine, drugged with a sleeping potion.

Task done, he easily leaves them be, passed out over at their watch post.

Now, for the _truly_ difficult part...

* * *

Present time...

Alfred sneaks a peek out the side curtains to look out at the stage. The royal theatre, built into the largest of the castles three courtyards, is all set and ready to go. A wooden back drop painted with an incredibly detailed snowy hillside stands at the back, setting the scene for the first act. On the gantry, stagehands stand at the ready, and beside him, two of his fellow actors stand waiting for their cue.

He's pulled back by an irate stagehand as the signal is given and the show begins.

Lights generated by magic shine down on the stage, spotlighting the narrator as the curtain goes up.

"Long ago, when mankind was still young and new to the world, they struggled to survive in even the most hospitable of places. For in this time of old, magic belonged to the land and the beasts alone. It seemed like man was destined to struggle for ever more, until, one day, that all changed." The young woman dressed in pure white robes recites, before the spotlight on her dims, and another switches to follow the two actors beside Alfred —a man and a little boy— walking out.

Snow falls and wind blows across the stage, all curtesy of the skilled stagehands, no expenses are spared for the royal theatre.

The pair pretend to be walking through a blizzard, before the boy falls to his knees, complaining that he can't go on, while his father continues to urge him on. It seems like just an ordinary walk, if tiring, until a screech fills the room and a beast attacks, killing the pair were they stand, the stage floor turned red with the supposed blood spilt.

The light then returns to the narrator as the curtains fall back over to hide the change of scene.

"Such horror was to befall many, until a hero rose up, one who would change the course of human history, and save us all from despair."

That was Alfred's cue, and so as the curtains part once more, he strides out, walking tall and proud. Before him, the courtyard is packed with noble men and their families, the rich and dignitaries from all over. And above it all, sits the King out on the balcony overlooking the space.

Thanks to the girl who did his make up —darkening his skin with a look of sweat clogged dirt, and his temporary black hair, along with the frayed wide brim of his hat— he's practically unrecognisable.

Careful to alter his voice, just in case that were to give him away, he recites his lines perfectly.

"Curse thee endless winter. Thou haft stolen mine Mother, mine Father, and now, thou haft taken mine own Sister from me!" He cries, dropping to his knees in despair, pretending to cry.

He's probably acting a little over the top, as the crowd show no interest in his display, some even rolling their eyes and turning away.

A cry fills the stage and a fake beast drops down from above.

"Thou beasts are a curse, a scourge upon the land." He stands, drawing his sword, which, he just realised, is still his real one and not fake, so he has to be careful not to harm the actor inside.

Still, he continues, pointing his blade at the descending beast.

"Have at thee! Foul creature!"

The crowd starts to get into it a bit more as Alfred makes a show of his skilled foot work, dodging and parrying attacks at the last second. Finally, after dazzling the audience with his moves, he pretends to slay the beast.

Leaning heavily on the hilt, having pretended to run the thing through into the ground, and panting for effect, he continues.

"I... have slain thee beast... and henceforth... I shall make this vow... upon thine blood, I _swear_ , to slay all thine brethren."

The curtains fall over again and the stage is quickly changed for the next scene, while the narrator continues.

"And it was with this vow, that Man would soon receive his first taste of magic. For the great God Nankeke did look down upon this man, a single human who vowed to slay all his creations, and laughed. But, the lowly Goddess Uparis also heard this vow, and sought to aid the man in his endeavour. However, Uparis was a weak Goddess of gentle spirits, she did not possess the power to help the man, but she was clever."

The curtain rises once more on a temple in the clouds, the God Nankeke sitting on a platform floating above the stage while Uparis sits on the floor, looking up.

"Nankeke, does the human amuse you?"

The God turns one of his three heads to look down upon the other and laughs sharply.

"Of course," The three speak as one, echoing around the open courtyard, waving two of his eight arms dismissively at the other, "Humans are such weak and pathetic things. To slay _all_ my fine creations? Hehe, of course such claims of grandeur amuse me."

"Then you think he cannot do it?" She asks, her long hair of light flowing out on the ground around her.

"Such a thing is impossible." The God proclaims proudly as he lounges.

"Mhm, you are quite right." The small Goddess hums in agreement, hiding her cunning smirk, "The humans stand no chance, they were not blessed with power over nature, as your beasts are."

"What are you suggesting?" The three headed God demands, all turning to look down upon the other.

"I suggest nothing, I only state what is true."

"And that would be?"

"That it is unfair, for one so powerless."

"That is because the humans are not _deserving_ of such power."

"Really? Then, if they did, he would be able to slay your creations?"

"Ha! Never."

"Hmm, I think he would."

Angered by the witty Goddess, the great God Nankeke was tricked into falling for her ploy, inadvertently helping the humans.

"Impossible!" He roars, and the stagehands have really gone all out, making the whole courtyard shake with his bellow, "I shall prove it! I shall gift this human this power, then you'll see, that the weak are _weak_ , no matter what gifts they are given!"

The scene changes again and Alfred makes ready to go back up for the climax of the play, while the narrator cues the scene.

"Through the skilled trickery of the Goddess Uparis, The man was gifted the power over nature. With this new might, he went forth and killed countless beasts."

As she talks, Al makes a show of killing creature after creature, backdropped by a rotating scene through seasons, while the lights made it appear as if it was changing from day to night, and back again, over and over.

"Until one day, angered by the humans continued successes, the great God Nankeke created a new beast, one designed specially to kill the man."

As the light focuses back on Alfred he takes over.

"A thousand beasts I haft slain, and a thousand more I shall slay!" He proclaims loudly, raising his sword over his head.

"Your death is at hand foolish human. Prepare to _die_ _!_ " The God roars from off stage.

It was at this point where everything went horribly, _horribly_ wrong.

Turning to the side of the stage that had yet to be used, Al watched in horror as a massive cage reinforced with magic is wheeled out.

He stares, as inside the cage, Arthur thrashes madly.

If Alfred had been looking, he'd have seen that the audience was _very_ interested in the play now.

Slightly unnerved, the narrator continued.

"The great God Nankeke's greatest creation, the spirit of the endless Winter, was unleashed upon the man."

With that, the lock on the cage was remotely released, and Arthur burst free...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear... This might not end well.
> 
> But yes, plot and lore all in one chapter, what is this madness?! Things are about to come to a head very soon, but do not fear, for this story is far from over.
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	19. Rage of the wolf

The cage door swinging open, with such force that it breaks off and clatters to the ground, sliding to hang off the edge of the stage, snaps Alfred out of his stupor and he jumps to the side, rolling away from Arthur. And just in time too, as he feels the rush off air from the wolf ruffle his hair, he turns to look at his friend.

Arthur had lunged from the cage with such force that his front paws smashed through the solid wood of the stage. Had Al been but a millisecond slower in dodging, that would have happened to him, and without his armour...

But he doesn't have time to think on that, as, to his horror, Arthur rips his feet free, sending wood splinters flying, and dives at the poor girl narrator.

The girl screams as her pure white robes are dyed red with her blood.

Alfred's feet are moving before he can fully process what's happening.

With all his strength, he slams himself into the wolf's side. The force is enough to make Arthur stumble, but not enough to stop him.

Not enough to save the young woman.

Arthur, teeth firmly embedded in the girl's right shoulder, yanks his head up, turning to look back and glare at Alfred, effortlessly ripping the girl apart in the process.

And Alfred stands, shaking, as he looks up, completely horrified at the blood soaked and dripping face of the wolf he had come to call a friend. But he's not shaking in fear, rather, from the cold.

Looking down at him, Arthur's eyes are shining as he growls, ears back in threat, part of the girl's shoulder blade visibly sticking out the left side of his mouth as he bears his teeth.

Alfred hadn't noticed it before since he had become so accustomed to the cold, but ever since the moment Arthur broke free, the temperature has been rapidly dropping, and now he can see their breath as ice spreads across not just the stage, but the whole courtyard.

Slowly Al steps backwards, shaking his head, not able to tear his eyes away.

"Arthur... What have you done?" He whispers, voice heavy with shock.

But he hears no voice in response, no words enter his mind as Arthur growls louder and lunges at Alfred, mouth open wide. Al stumbles back, tripping and falling over the broken and icy stage to land on his back, staring at the shattered bones and flesh of the girl that fall from the wolf's mouth.

He closes his eyes, turning his head away as he braces to be attacked, only his instincts take over.

Al blinks, looking back up.

His sword, his _real_ Sky Blade was still in his hand, and without realising it, he had brought it up to block the attack, his right hand holding the hilt, his left palm pressed flat against the smooth side of the blade, supporting the other end, the runes glowing their gentle blue as he's pushing back against Arthur's open mouth.

"Arthur stop this!" He shouts.

But still, he hears nothing as the wolf pushes down on him more.

Al frowns, letting him, using his sword to guide Arthur's head up past his, while also pushing himself to slide down and under the wolf. He quickly rolls out from under the wolf, turning, he raises his sword in defence as Arthur turns.

After being slowed with shock, Al's mind is now racing with a thousand questions. Why isn't Arthur answering him, what happened to his saddle, why is one side of him more mud covered than the other, how did he end up here, and why is Arthur attacking him?

But Alfred doesn't have time to figure out the answers as he suddenly becomes aware of the sound of hurried marching.

"KILL THAT BEAST!"

A roaring call shouts and Alfred recognises it as the Kings voice.

He has his back to the courtyard, but he doesn't need to look to know that the guards have come running, and now Arthur is faced with the Kingdoms army, and Alfred is caught in between them.

Arthur's green eyes having never once stopped glowing, shine even brighter as he raises his head and lets out a deafening howl. The air chills more as wind whips up around the wolf and rapidly spreads out, snow forming within, causing the area to be instantly blanketed in a blizzard.

"Arthur!" Al shouts, reaching forward, but only meets empty air.

Despite having only been stood a few feet away, the wolf disappears completely into the storm, the normally sunny Capital now wrapped in a total white out.

The sound of screams and cries of terror fill the courtyard before the stage, and the shouts of the guards barely reach Al's ears over the roar of the wind. He can hardly see his hand in front of his face, but that doesn't stop him jumping down to follow after the sounds.

Fighting through the winds strong enough to knock a man off his feet, Al's eyes widen as he sees pools and trails of red staining the thin layer of white snow on the ground. He feels sick as he nearly trips over the severed arm of a guard, only identified as such by the cracked armour it's still encased in, next to part of a woman's head, the face missing, long hair and bone entangled in the visible brain.

But he pushes on, running towards the shouts of the guards, past dozens of bodies, he finally finds the wolf. Six guards have Arthur cornered between the walls and pillars that ring the courtyard. With their large shields they push the wolf back and trap him, while one thrusts his spear out, aiming for the wolf's heart.

"NO!"

Al runs towards the group, but before he can make it the spear strikes, but instead of piercing, the tip shatters, and while the guards are surprised by this, Arthur attacks. His eyes shine brighter again as he lets out such a deep and terrifyingly animalistic growl, that something deep inside Al's soul shudders at that sound as ice spreads out like daggers in a flash from the wolf, incasing each of the guards in a giant, jagged icicle, freezing them solid.

Arthur growls lowly as he fixes his gaze on the young knight, slowly stalking forward between to of the ice shards. Despite himself, Al stumbles backwards as he meets those eyes.

Eye's devoid of all kindness.

Of all reason.

Of sanity.

Of Arthur.

These are the eye's of a beast.

Of one blinded by rage.

Of a hunter.

Of a killer.

The beast lunges and Alfred raises his sword...

* * *

Meanwhile...

Matthew worriedly paces within the Great Hall. The hall, filled with people from all over the Kingdom and beyond, is large enough to easily hold over three hundred people. And it needs to be, as they've all come to see one thing.

Tightening his hold on the fake book in his arms, Matt turns his gaze from the people to the object of their attraction.

Sitting behind a case of magic imbued crystalline glass, that can only be reached by one _very_ specific spell, on the plushest of red velvet pillows, guarded by four unmoving guards on either side, is the Shard of Talmeré.

The Shard, a fist sized crystal of swimming black mixed with deep royal purple, and specked within by dots of arctic blue, shines in the light of the magic orbs floating high above. It's an extraordinary sight, and also a _very_ powerful magical artefact from the Days of Old. It's only ever brought out of the vaults once a year, for the Winter Solstice festival. The Shard serves as a symbol of the Kings power, and it's use in the High Moon ceremony serves to demonstrate to all just how powerful he is.

No one, other than the King himself and the royal jeweller, are ever allowed close enough to touch it, everyone else can't even get nearer than the twenty feet away that the guards are maintaining at all times.

And they're going to steal it.

He paces more around the edges of the hall, worrying over what he's about to do. The sounds of music from bards, and singing and laughter do nothing to soothe his fraying nerves.

It was one thing to plan this all out, but another entirely to be standing here, minutes away from attempting to steal the Kingdoms most valuable relic, right under the guards noses as well.

What was he thinking?

He needs to find Gilbert, call the plan off and-

In the distance someone screams and the joyful atmosphere of the hall falters as people question it's origin.

And Matt stills with it, before rushing to the massive floor to ceiling windows to look out over the central courtyard. The position is awkward, as he can only see the side of the stage over the roof of the lower part of the castle surrounding the area.

As he tries to see what's happening a gust of wind blows, making the stage curtains flutter, and he gasps, covering his mouth with his hand at the sight that meets him.

One of the actors is standing next to the wolf as it tears apart a girl before his very eyes.

He feels sick, backing away from the window, he accidentally bumps into someone. Whoever it was must have followed his gaze, as soon there's a scream from behind him, and suddenly, the entire Hall is in chaos.

People start to flee in all directions, confused and scared as suddenly ice starts to freeze all over the walls and more screams from outside fill the air. A group of guards go running past the open doors with shouts to hurry and protect the King, and Matt is jostled as people shove past him.

He stares at the doorway, as suddenly there's a _blizzard_ out of nowhere, blowing with such force that it fills the hall, confusing everyone even more.

It's impossible to see anything two feet in front of him, the whole castle must be in complete disarray right now, and the King and all the guards are distracted.

...It's perfect...

Gil must have realise the same thing, as suddenly he's by Matt's side, red eyes glowing.

"Hurry and switch the books!" He somehow shouts the whisper in Matt's ear, tugging him in the direction of the throne, where the _real_ book sits on a pedestal, waiting to be read.

Forcing himself to ignore the horror outside, he nods, and hurries to switch the books. With the true tome in his hands, he silently recites the needed spell within. Gilbert, meanwhile, moves to the now unguarded case holding the Shard. With his specially enchanted gauntlet for just this moment, he reaches through the glass as Matt dispels it, and switches the Shard with a near flawless replica.

"Got it." He says, making his way back to the blonde with his sight magic.

"Then let's get out of here."

"Right. Time to go get wolf boy."

* * *

Alfred, driven by fear and self preservation, swings his sword into the side of the beast. But it does not cut like he expects, instead it _clangs_ , and slides down the creatures side. He let's the blade carry him, moving with it to dodge the jaws of the beast, and as he moves, he sees why his attack failed.

The wolf's fur is frozen.

It's coated in a armour of a million tiny icicles.

But while Alfred was distracted by this revelation, the beast took advantage, twisting it's body as Al moves along parallel to its side, it swings it's tail round, slamming it into Alfred's chest, _hard_.

Sent flying through the air from the hit, Al lands painfully on his back in the blood soaked snow covering the stone tiles.

"Arrgghh!" He grunts in pain, his right shoulder dislocated by the impact.

Dazed and in pain, he isn't able to get away before the wolf is suddenly above him, growling and dripping blood mixed saliva down on his face. He tries to scramble backwards, but the beast brings one of it's large paws down on his injured shoulder, claws digging in to holding him in place.

"Aaaah!" He can't help his cry of pain as his nerves scream at him from the paw pressing painfully down on his shoulder, causing him to drop his sword.

He can feel his heart racing as his breaths come in pained gasps, squinting up at the beast above him.

"Ar...tie..." He gasps out through gritted teeth, "S...sto..p..."

His eye's widen as he's helpless but to watch as the wolf brings it's head down for the kill, going for his neck.

' ** ** _Artie..._**** '

He pleads in his mind, in too much pain to even speak, and, miraculously, the wolf pauses, staring down at him.

'Artie?' He tries to ask, but somehow that doesn't seem right, that's not how he did it before.

'Ar- ****_Artie?_**** '

The wolf continues to stare, looking him right in the eyes, and Alfred feels like an idiot, realising the answer to at least one of his previous questions.

Arthur's attacking him because he doesn't recognise him.

The makeup, the black hair, he hardly looks like himself, but his eyes, blue and bright though pained, are still the same.

Fighting through the pain, Al lifts his uninjured hand to rub his sleeve over his face, hurriedly trying to remove as much of the makeup as possible. Once he's gotten as much off as possible, he forces out a pained smile.

'It- ****_It's m-_**** e... ****_It's me, Artie._**** '

The wolf blinks, hot breath with the stench of death puffs over his face as finally, _finally_ _,_ he hears a small distance sounding voice.

' _..._ _Al_ _...?_ '

Reaching his hand up to rest on the wolves face, Alfred's smile becomes more genuine at hearing the voice at last.

' ** ** _Yeah, it's me. Come back to me buddy._**** '

The wolf blinks a few more times, before the pressure on his shoulder lets up.

' _A-_ _Al_ _... I..._ '

Al watches as _Arthur_ pulls back, removing himself completely from Al as if he'd just been burned, shaking his head.

' _I_ _..._ I...'

Glad to be free, but even happier that Arthur has returned to his senses, Alfred sits up, holding his pained and bleeding shoulder, back soaked in someone else's blood, he still smiles at his friend.

"It's _okay_ _._ " He assures softly.

' _No_ _, it's not! I... I was..._ ' Arthur barks back, shaking his head more as if that would free him from the reality of what just happened.

"It is." Al tells him, wincing as he climbs to his feet, "You weren't you for a bit there, but your back now, and that's all that matters."

He smiles softly as he wraps his good arm around Arthur's lowered head, pressing his own to the others, uncaring of the ice cold touch from the frozen fur.

"It wasn't your fault." He whispers.

With all the suddenness of what just happened, Al hadn't noticed he could barely feel their bond, but now that it was back, he could feel _everything_ that Arthur is feeling.

So even though he knows they're standing surrounded by the bodies of countless people Arthur just slaughtered, he can't hate him for it.

Not when he's feeling this scared.

Not when he's feeling this heartbroken.

He won't hate him.

Because it was instinct.

It was fear.

It wasn't Arthur.

He could _never_ hate Arthur.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmh yup, that happened. Happy-go-lucky hero story, this is not.
> 
> I left it kind of vague on numbers, but there is a death count here, get it right and you must be psychic or something.
> 
> Okay, so I'm trying to not be too graphic here with the gore and stuff, and since I don't want to have to push the rating up, but well, it's kind of necessary to get the right feeling across. So if anyone feels uncomfortable from it, I apologise.
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	20. Truth

Alfred jolted as he felt a tug on the back of his slowly crusting shirt.

"Time to go."

He turns to be face to face with Gilbert and next to him, is his brother he's not seen in two years, looking both worried and determined.

"Wha-" He starts to ask, but doesn't finish his thought as Arthur raises his head, and, upon seeing Gil, growls and makes to snap at him.

"Arthur don't!" Al cries in a garbled rush as he leans on the wolf to stop him.

' _But_ _!_ '

"We don't have time for this, calm your pet and hurry up!" Gil snaps in that commanding way of his as he tugs Alfred's arm to follow.

"What the hell Gil? Wha-" He demands before Matthew cuts him off.

"We'll explain later, but right now, we _really_ have to go. _Now_ _._ "

Gilbert, Alfred's not so sure about anymore, but he knows he can trust his twin no matter what, so he nods and hurries after them, Arthur hot on his heels, not wanting to let Al out of his sight around the other two.

It's only as they start running through the castle that Al realises the Blizzard is still going, having somehow blanked it out when focusing on Arthur.

Led by Gilbert's magic, they weave their way out of the castle and down to the lower town, straight for the South Gate, all while hidden by the blizzard. And the whole time, the ground is covered in ice. Arthur had not just froze over the courtyard, but the _whole_ Capital.

The sheer idea of being able to do something of that magnitude is mind boggling to Al, and it's obvious that both Mattie and Gil are unnerved by it too, as they glance from the ice to Arthur and Al every so often.

Once they're a good distance away from the Capital in the outer woods of the south, they stop.

"Man, I wish we could get out of this blizzard soon." Gil grumbles as he starts to dig between the roots of a seemingly random tree, while Mattie gathers a pair of horses from a magically concealed stable.

"Gil's right. Mind stopping this blizzard Artie? It's hella cold." Al asks, shivering.

Both Mattie and Gil turn to stare as Arthur nods and howls, effortlessly ending the storm.

' _Better_ _?_ ' Arthur asks, sounding tired.

"Much, thanks."

"So it's true then, you _can_ talk to them." Gil whispers in something that's a mix of fear and awe.

"Wait," Al turns to stare at the pair, "How do you know that?"

"We'll explain everything later, but right now we need to make it to the meeting point before the army finds us." Matt repeats, helping Gil pull sacks of hidden supplies out from under the tree roots.

Alfred frowns at the pair, wanting to just demand to be told right now what's going on, but he holds his tongue, choosing to trust the two closest people in his life, even if they _are_ acting pretty shady right now.

Supplies now seemingly all retrieved, the pair mount up and Mattie offers his hand to his brother.

"You can ride with me."

Alfred looks to Arthur, but without the saddle and with his arm busted up, he knows it'd be pretty hard to ride by himself, so he decides to take his brother up on the offer and climbs on.

As soon as he's on, they're off, and Arthur has to go at a light run to keep up with the horses as they race away through the woods.

* * *

Two hours of hard riding later, and they make it out of the woods to the grassy plains where a group of half a dozen people lie waiting on the ground.

At their rapid approach, one of them stands and waves enthusiastically at them with an axe coated in blood.

It's only as they get closer that they realise that the other five aren't napping, but are dead.

They pull to a hard stop and Gil raises an eyebrow at the bodies.

"Toni, what's with the dead guys?"

The brown haired man smiles cheerily.

"It's good cover, don't you think? If anyone unwanted came snooping, they wouldn't expect to get attacked by the dead."

"You really have a weird way of doing things." Gil shrugs at the odd explanation.

"Eh, it works. Now, are you ready to go? Mistress is waiting to meet all of you." He leans to the side to look past Matt to Alfred, " _Especially_ you."

Before Al can ask, Gil gives a thumbs up.

"Do your thing."

Not a moment after the last syllable is out of Gilbert's mouth, the man known as Toni waves a hand and they're all suddenly surrounded by a ring of bright red flames. Al flinches automatically at them, but is surprised when they don't burn. The flames spread out from the man, climbing over all of their bodies, even the horses as they are surrounded, and from behind them, Al watches in wonder as the world melts like wax, shifting away and changing, before reforming as some place else and the flames vanish.

"We're here!"

Alfred blinks, looking around as he feels like he's melting. They're no longer outside the nicely warm Capital, but in the sweltering heat of the _desert_ _!_

"Welcome to my home, the Southern Kingdom of Daská!"

* * *

Thankfully, the man had warped them to just outside a city, and after being lead over a tall sand dune, they were mercifully guided into a large stone building, they were allowed to bathe and change into clothes more suited for the burning heat of outside. Thankfully, inside is much more bearable, though still terribly hot. But the cool water of the bathhouse did wonders in cooling them down, especially Arthur.

The poor snow wolf was not built for this heat and near collapsed as soon as they arrived. It was a group effort to help him to the baths and pull him in. While Arthur lay dazedly in the water with Gil and Mattie, Alfred was quickly treated by a Healer for his shoulder, setting it back in place before he too climbed into the large communal bath.

Gilbert and Matthew had gotten out a while ago, but Al isn't ready to leave yet, not until he's sure Arthur is okay.

He's never had an _actual_ bath before, but was too lethargic to put up any sort of protest against going in, And is now lying with his head on the steps, nose and eyes just above water level, soaking it all in.

"Ya good now?" Al asks, floating behind him on the other side of the bath, still worried about the other.

' _Mmmhmm_ _..._ ' Is the lazily slurred hum of contentment he receives in response.

"Good." Al smiles as he remains behind the wolf.

Part of him is still modestly embarrassed about Arthur seeing him naked, but, after last time, he doesn't think there's much reason to be.

And he _just_ shared a bath with Gil and Mattie, which was _weird_ _._ They must have thought so too, since they got out so quick, or maybe they were just trying to avoid Al asking questions again.

' _Mmh_ _...Aaalll..._ ' Arthur continues to slur dazedly.

"Yeah?"

' _Come_ _heeerreee..._ '

Alfred weighs up his embarrassment against his concern first —finding it's not much of a contest— and swims over.

"Yeah?" He asks as he reaches the others side.

Arthur, much to Al's amusement, flopped onto his side to bring his leg up and pull Al closer, accidentally pushing the young knight under the water, before he popped back up to be held by the wolf against his chest.

Al couldn't help but smile at this much more docile side of the wolf, his fur floating and swaying with the water tickling Al as he's held.

He watches the wolf give him a lazy half smile.

' _Pack_ _._ '

Al blinks.

That one word, said with such endearment, he gets the feeling he's just reached a new level of acceptance with Arthur. That Arthur now, for whatever reason, feels he can trust Al completely.

Something warm spreads inside his chest at that, and he beams back.

"Pack." He agrees, hugging the wolf back.

And as he holds the wolf, he realises he can feel the bond between them has suddenly grown stronger.

* * *

Eventually, once Arthur stopped slurring as any signs of heatstroke disappear, and Alfred, becoming pruny from being in the water so long, decided it was time to get some answers. He smiled in amusement as he watched the wolf climb out, shaking himself dry and sending water everywhere in the process, while Alfred dried off with one of the waiting towels.

Once dry, he turned his attention to the clothes left for him, given his old ones were in no fit state to be walking about in and probably have to be tossed out. The sand coloured tunic that leaves his arms bare is a loose fit, with only a thin strip of leather to act as a belt to keep it in place, and pair of open sandals is certainly a new look for the young knight, but not unwelcome. He's silently glad he didn't have his armour on when they arrived, or he might just have been cooked alive inside it.

When they stepped outside the baths, Gilbert was waiting for them and lead the pair from the bathhouse back out to cross to another building that appeared to be a dining hall. Even though they were outside for less than two minutes, the desert is so hot that Arthur, who had been dripping water and leaving puddles in his wake on the way out, was completely dry by the time they made it into the next building.

Inside, Mattie was sitting, patiently waiting for them at one of the low tables, a platter of food before him. Scattered about the hall a few other people can be seen eating and chatting.

"You'll want to sit for this." His brother tells him as soon as he walks in.

Ready to finally know what's going on, Al sits on one of the low cushions across from his twin, a _very_ fluffy Arthur lying down behind him, and waits.

Gilbert joins Matthews side and the pair nod to each other before Gil looks at Alfred and begins.

"Okay, here's the thing kid." He takes a deep breath, preparing to reveal the truth, "We're going to kill King Momarîs."

...

" _What_ _?_ " He chokes on his own breath at hearing those words, coming out of _Gilbert's_ mouth of all people.

"We're going to kill the King of Talmeré." Matthew states with such seriousness that it scares Al.

"W- _why_ _?_ "

"Because," Gilbert growls, red eyes flashing, "he's responsible for _everything_."

Al watches feeling very confused, and a little afraid at all this talk of killing the king as Mattie places a comforting hand on Gil's shoulder.

"Al, the King is a tyrant. He doesn't _care_ about the people, he only cares about gaining more power for _himself_."

"No, that's wrong." He shakes his head, trying to defend the man he swore loyalty to, "He's a good man. He's always been kind."

"He only _acts_ that way." Gilbert spits.

"He's a good King. He _does_ care about the people, just look at all the Hero stories of the King's Knights. They've saved countless people, towns, villages! He made them to protect and serve the people!"

"All _lies_ _._ "

"No!"

"It's true Al. Every hero story you ever read about them growing up, they're all made up, they're not _real_. They never happened."

"What?" He stares at his brother.

"The Tale of Marceà, Eric's Vow, The People of White Law, all of them, they're made up. Not a single word of them is true."

He stares, mouth opening and closing uselessly at his brother. With Gilbert, he can never really tell if he's yanking his chain, but Mattie, he's _always_ been able to tell.

His brother is dead serious about this.

"Think about it Al, in the two years you were in exile, did you _once_ see another knight? A kingdom patrol? A single _guard_ _?_ In all that time, did you _ever_ even _hear_ of them coming _near_ the tiny town and villages out there?"

...

No... He didn't see anyone. No guards or patrols or knights. It was just him and the towns people.

Just him...

"I was there..." He tries to argue weakly, but he already knows it's pointless.

"Not by your choice, and if things had happened differently, you never would have."

...his brother is right...

"All those stories, of knights being just out of sight, always within reach when needed, are all fabricated by the Kings order."

"...why..."

"To keep the people believing that it's true. That the King _does_ care, that they really _are_ protected." Gil grumbles, "But they're not. A monster could attack and wipe out a whole town today, and by tomorrow the King would have the story of how the knights fought _bravely_ to save the people, but it would all be a _lie_ _._ "

"That's what he is Al, he's a power hungry King of _lies_."

"...but...why..."

"Because he's _evil_."

"The knights he surrounds himself with are either of wealthy backgrounds or very powerful."

He shakes his head, not wanting to believe any of this.

"Then why? Why do _you_ serve him?" He asks, turning to Gilbert.

"I _don't_ _._ _I_ work in the shadows to bring him down, while _acting_ as his _trusted_ council and commander."

"But we can't bring him down alone. Dad planned to but-"

"Wait, dad?!" Al asks, cutting his brother off.

"Yes, Dad was a part of all this too. He was among the first."

"The first of what?"

"Take a look around you kid." Gilbert grins at him for the first time as he waves his hands out to their surroundings, "Welcome to the rebellion."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Exposition Central, please keep your hands and feet inside the cart at all times and hang onto the guard rail, this ride is going to get bumpy.
> 
> But yup, the main plot is revealed, they're going to kill the King, oh boy!
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!


	21. Revelations

Rebellion...

Gil and Mattie, the two people he thought he knew best, are plotting against the King...

A King he thought he knew too...

But before he has time to properly process this, the brown haired man from before walks in.

"Ah, there you are." He smiles, either not noticing or not caring for the heavy atmosphere surrounding the trio, "Come, the Mistress is waiting." He states, coming to stand by the side of the table.

"Well she can keep waiting, we're in the middle of explaining things here." Gilbert grumbles, waving the other off.

"You can explain things later, she want's to see you _now_."

When Gilbert makes no move to get up, the other frowns.

"Gilbert-"

"I said-"

"It's fine." Matthew cuts in before a fight can start between the two, "We can go with Antonio now and fill Al in on the rest later, he'll need time to process all this anyway."

"Fine. Let's just get this over with." Gil huffs, finally standing.

Still very much confused by all this, Al gets up and follows after the trio, Arthur only getting up once he sees that Al is.

Again, they're lead outside and through the city. The scorching sun still hangs high in the sky, beating down on the sand and stone of this desert Kingdom, and Alfred wonders how anyone could live here. All the buildings here are made of an off white stone, reflecting the sun and heat, along with small windows built high in the walls helps to keep them cool, making indoors somewhat bearable. But there is no stone paths or roads between them, only the red sand in which they sit, with foot prints trailing where the people walk.

They travel down what Al guesses would be the Main Street —simply from all the buildings lining it and the more compressed sand creating what can barely be considered a dirt road— to a slightly larger building at the end of it that kind of looks like a three tiered pyramid with the top cut off.

By the time they get inside again, Arthur is panting heavily and Al feels like he needs a bath again from how much he's sweating.

"It's way too hot here." He complains, sighing in relief as soon as he gets in.

"You'll get used to it." Mattie tries to reassure him, but he too looks about ready to collapse.

They follow Antonio up to the top floor and down a corridor to a set of large stone doors. Though the hallways are wide, the roof is low, so the place is a bit of a squeeze for Arthur, the wolf having to crouch and shimmy his way along the narrower places. Al want's to ask if he's okay, given how tight of fit some of the places are, but ever since the bath, Arthur has been oddly quiet, so he decides to let the wolf be for now.

Up front, Antonio gives the door two sharp knocks, then waits to be called in.

"Enter." A female voice calls and the brunette pushes the doors open.

Inside is a single spacious room, with a large rectangular table in the centre, covered in papers and maps, and a desk at the back, filled with even more piles of papers, books and scrolls.

They all pile in, the room thankfully large enough to hold all of them easily, even Arthur, but Alfred doesn't care about that right now, as he stares at the rooms only occupant.

Seated at the desk is a long brown haired woman, with slightly tanned skin and green eyes, dressed in, from what Al can see, a dark green loose tunic with a breastplate over it.

But that's not what catches his attention.

No, what he stares at, is the two, large, folded, leathery winds behind her back.

As the doors swing shut behind them, she looks up and immediately frowns.

"So your here then." She grumbles, putting down the scroll she was reading.

"Nice to see you too." Gilbert drawls back full of sarcasm.

"Hardly." She glares, standing and rounding the desk, "What the _hell_ Beilschmidt, what happened to the plan? You said _six_ years. It's only been _two_." She demands angrily, wings twitching with her rage.

"Hey, don't blame me." Gil huffs, crossing his arms as he meets her steely gaze, "You should be asking Sadık that, he's the one who should have been keeping the kid in check."

"No you idiot! This is why I said _not_ to rely on him, he can't be trusted! But did you listen? No! You just went ahead and gave a key roll to a man who's only loyalty is money." She shouts.

"It was necessary!" Gil shouts too, both getting caught up in their argument, "He's the _only_ one who can cross the Borderlines without detection. I've seen it, he _has_ to be involved."

"Then involve him, but don't rely on him! Now because of _your_ fuck up, we're screwed!"

"We're not _screwed_ _!_ We can still pull this off!"

"Oh really? Then that must mean you got your power back, because that's the _only_ way we'd be able to salvage the _fucking_ mess you've made."

"You know I don't." Gilbert growls lowly, eyes flashing.

"Then what the _hell_ are you playing at?!" She screams, wings and arms spreading, "I don't even have _half_ the men we need, and we haven't even _begun_ to work on the alliances!" She shouts, before suddenly calming, "Face it Gil, the plan's dead in the water. It's over before we even started."

"It's not."

"I know you want revenge as much as I do, but we can't win anymore, the plan's done. I'm pulling out."

This makes Gilbert's anger fizzle out to be replaced with shock.

"What? Liz, you can't."

"I don't have a choice. We've gone off track, I can't provide the assurance of knowledge anymore, not when you can't See."

"That doesn't matter." He shakes his head, grabbing Liz by the shoulders and stares at her with eyes filled with determination.

"Even if the plan's a bust, even if I can't Foresee anymore, this is still our best shot, and we _have_ to take it. For them."

Silence passes through the room as the pair stare at each other.

"Alright," She finally agrees, smiling, "Plan or no plan, let's do this. For them."

She continues to grin as she pushes his hands off her, turning to look at Alfred.

"Now that that's sorted, I assume this is him?"

She asks curiously, walking up to Al, as if they hadn't just had a screaming match.

"Yup." Gil grins as he too, turns to look at Al, while Matt moves to the side, leaving only Antonio standing next to him and Arthur.

"Allow me to introduce you," Toni smiles sunnily at him, as if what had just happened was completely normal, "This is the Mistress of the Kingdom of Daská, Lady Elizabeta Héderváry, Demoness of the Four Sands."

Alfred's eye's widen, looking between the two brunettes. Despite the grand title, Antonio had said it with such a casual air, Alfred could hardly believe it. As his mind whirs, Al realises he's _technically_ standing before a Queen, though she wears no crown or robes to distinguish her as such, the title is certainly telling of it, so he hurriedly kneels.

"M'lady, it is an honour." He voices, bowing his head in respect.

There's a beat of silence in which Al worries he's insulted her is some way, but he most certainly doesn't expect the raucous laughter that follows. He blinks, looking up to find the demoness doubled over in laughter, holding her stomach as she tries to contain herself, and looking around, the others are all grinning too.

"Uh..."

"Liz ain't no Queen dummy, there's no reason for you to be bowing like that." Gilbert explains, grinning at Alfred's quickly growing embarrassment.

"Pffff, Despite the title, I am, hahaha, of no royal blood." Liz gasps out between laughs, slowly getting herself under control, "I ask no man to bow for me, though it is nice to see that chivalry is not dead yet."

She grins down at him, offering her hand and pulling him to his feet, then releasing him.

"All I ask is for their sword and vow to fight by my side. The King of Talmeré is a power hungry fool, and it is time we cut off the head of the snake." She looks at him seriously, offering her hand out to him once more, "Alfred Feral Jones the third, will you lend me your strength and fight to end King Momarîs' reign of terror?"

Alfred blinks at the sudden request, having only just learnt of Gil and Mattie's goal, now he's being asked to join it?

Then, he realises something else.

"Wait, how do you know my name?"

It's Elizabeta's turn to blink, lowering her hand and looking to Gilbert.

"You haven't told him yet?"

"We were _getting_ to that, before Toni dragged us here cause you were _so_ impatient to have a screaming match with us."

"Told me what?" Alfred's getting the feeling that whatever 'it' is, he's not going to like it.

The demoness looks to him and shakes her head.

"Alfred, you are the Ordained Key, the Path Forged, the Blood Bond to sever the Hold of Ages. You are the Sword by which the Snake shall be felled."

There's a heavy air as she tells him this, but it all goes over Al's head.

"Am a what now?"

The group sigh as Alfred clearly doesn't understand what they're trying to tell him.

"Your power Al, the _Domino_ _bestia_ , is a unique type of _Magia_ passed down a family bloodline. It's extremely rare, and expression of it by those that carry it only occurs under _very_ specific circumstances." Matt explains, coming to stand beside him.

"Wait, wait, wait. How do you know about my power, and more than I do?"

"From Dad's journals, I pieced together his hidden writings, but it was Gil who told me how it works."

"Huh?"

Alfred is now even more confused by all this.

"How does _Gil_ know?"

"Because I was like you, not a _Domino_ _bestia,_ but I had a bloodline _Magia_ _,_ the  _Haruspicem_ _,_ the Soothsayer."

"Gilbert was able to foresee the future, and act accordingly to change events to create a new one, one that better suited our wants and needs." Liz adds, moving to the table to look over a map.

"Was?"

"I could before, but I can't anymore, my power is gone." Gilbert grumbles sourly, looking away.

"It's complicated." Mattie adds, shaking his head.

The group falls silent again, clearly all thinking about something, leaving Al to process all this new information.

They all know about his power, which _does_ explain why no one here has freaked out about seeing Arthur, other than a quick glance, not a single person has given much of any kind of reaction.

Because Gil told them... 'cause he knows about it already...

Suddenly it all clicks in Alfred's head and his eyes widen.

Gilbert knew... before he did.

He knew when he through him in a cell not meant for mages, knew when he arrested him, knew that he was coming back to the Capital. He knew before he met Arthur, before his exile.

He can change events, alter the outcome to be...

He must have known back then too...

No, he didn't just _know_ he _made_ it happen...

Poor Randull...

The mistake he made and has been blaming himself for, for the past two _years_ _,_ it was _never_ a mistake...

Specific circumstances... changing events...

Gilbert... who has always been there... guiding him...

No...

_Manipulating_ him...

"Gaarrhhh!" He screams in anger as he launches himself at the albino, tackling him to the ground, "You Bastard!"

"Argh! Al! Ah! Fuck!"

They roll on the hard stone floor as Al tries to punch Gilbert in the face and knee him between the legs, while Gil tries to push him off.

"Randull! My exile! It's _your_ _fucking_ fault!" He screams, getting a good jab in on the red eyed man's side.

The others look up surprised, before quickly moving to break up the fight, or they would, if not for Arthur jumping in, biting down on Gilbert's right arm as he rolls to be on top of Alfred, and roughly pulling him back.

"Argh! Fucking!" Gil swears in pain as he's pulled back into an awkward sitting position before Al lunges at him again, punching him as he's held in place by the wolf's jaws.

"You fucking Bastard! You ruined my _life_ _!_ "

Despite having one arm trapped and about to be ripped off, Gilbert is not one to sit still and take a needless beating. He leans back as Alfred jumps for him, quickly lifting his legs and kicking Al in the stomach, sending him sprawling backwards. He then twists and rotates around his trapped arm, getting into a kneeling position facing the wolf and uses his magic to temporarily blind the wolf. In the moment of confusion and panic by the blinding, Arthur lets up the pressure on Gil's arm, and the albino Commander uses that split second to free himself, prying the wolf's jaws open with his magic and rolling away to safety.

' _Al?!_ _Al_ _where are you?!_ '

Hearing Arthur's panicked voice for the first time since the baths, snaps Alfred of his anger at Gil, as he scrambles over the floor to the wolf.

"Am here, am right here."

' _I_ _can't_ _see...Al... I can't see..._ '

The only sound the others are able to understand from Arthur is the panicky whine he makes as he desperately presses his head into Alfred.

"What the hell did you do to him?!"

"I only blinded him, it'll wear off in a minute. Fuck! That hurts..." The albino grumbles by way of explanation as he holds his bleeding arm.

"You. Fucking. Bastard!"

Alfred makes to lunge for him again with renewed anger, but is stopped by both Matthew —pushing against his shoulders—and Arthur —wrapping a paw around his body— holding him in place.

"Al don't!"

"Why?! It's his fault! He's the one who made sure I'd be on patrol that day! He's the one who cause Randull to lose his arm and leg! He's the one who made me have to leave you all alone for two years! He made me get exiled! He ruined my life!"

"I know." The calmness with which Mattie says this causes Al to falter.

"Wha- you do?"

"Yes, he told me everything, the day you were exiled. He explained it all, and, I agreed with him."

"What?"

"You had to be exiled. In order for you to awaken your power. And so that you would be safe."

"Safe? Arthur tried to _eat_ me the first time I saw him! I almost died!"

"Don't be so dramatic, you weren't going to die."

"Easy for you to say!"

"It's true, Gilbert foresaw the future and altered the events that would have happened to save you and in the process meet a beast you would Bond with."

"...Save me?"

"If I hadn't done anything, you would have died on your third patrol to the West." Gilbert explains, glaring, annoyed at Al, "Your death would have just been as pointless fodder for the King, and he wouldn't have even bat an eye at it. Like so many others, like Ludy."

All of Alfred's remaining anger disappears at that.

"I didn't ruin your life kid, I saved you."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to Who's dead? This week it's Ludwig!
> 
> Sorry Germany fans, but it's Plot, evil, evil Plot.
> 
> And there you have it folks, from the very start, Gilbert has been behind everything. Well, up until Sadık messed with the plan that is.
> 
> And Hungary's here! The devil girl herself, basically she looks the exact same as normal, only with demon wings, because Plot. She and Spain are working together in the South, and we'll touch more on Spain's role later.
> 
> See you all in the New Year!
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Until next time, stay awesome!

**Author's Note:**

> I’m now in the slow process of cross posting all my stuff over to here from my FF.net (same name), so if you can’t wait for the next chapter here, then head on over there! And if you like this, check out my tumblr (again, same name) where I occasionally post art to go along with the story.  
> See old notes below.  
> XxxxxxxxxX  
> Hey, welcome to my new au! Anyone from my tumblr might know that I mentioned this a while back. This story was one I originally abandoned since I couldn't think of what to do with it besides the original premise. Still not sure exactly where this is going or how long it'll last but we'll see. It'll be a journey for all of us.
> 
> So if you like this knight Alfred and Wolf Arthur, then please stick around! And leave a review and tell me what you think.


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